Ides of March - B+

In theaters. Rated R, 102 minutes. Trailer.


Ides of March tells the consultant/campaign manager side of a week inside a close presidential race. George Clooney directs himself as the candidate and Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei and Rachel Evan Wood as his surrounding cast. Gosling is the lead character, playing an up and coming media consultant that has bought into Clooney's governor for president character. This film could have been called swimming with sharks; it portrays the cut-throat nature of high-stakes politics, especially among the campaign staff and media. Click below for more on IOM:

Golsing is a true believer that learns the dark arts of campaigns, adapts, and comes out a hardened (and successful) operative. As he deals harshly with a bad situation, he quickly feels the same treatment and he is all the more hardened for it.

The film is bathed in gray and it informs the general cynical mood of the film. There are no good lessons to be learned here, as human nature plays out in the big time.

All of the actors are at the top of their game here, with PSH being extra-special. Clooney's candidate gets a little annoying as he spouts Clooney's personal Democratic views with such fervor. This is probably an A- for me just because of my special predisposition to politics.