merelyaninnuendo
The Ides Of MarchThe scrutiny is built up with sincerity and sensibly that doesn't alarm the viewers at all and keeps it mysterious and glorifying on its own terms whilst chewing off the inner circle of the characters that they all reside in. The writing is strong, thought-provoking, engaging and unpredictable that helps keep the viewers on the edge of the seat and offers enough homework to them which fortunately is worth working on and justifying too. The camera work is decent but isn't shot amazingly and is neither impressive on sound department, editing and other technical aspects of it. George Clooney; the screenwriter and director, has done a decent work on execution but it doesn't live up to its script which is utterly stunning. The performance objective is satisfied and the reason is the star power and their hard work which is clearly visible in here especially by Ryan Gosling and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The energy of the cinema is the primary reason why it fails to connect with each individual audience as there aren't much mutual combinations locked by the makers. The Ides Of March is a convoluted mishap of politics which is infomercial and accurate but also unfortunately easily forgetful.
zkonedog
Some politically-inclined films focus on the individual politicians themselves. Others deal more with the issues embedded within the rhetoric. "The Ides of March", however, takes a bit of a new approach to the genre by focusing almost solely on the machinations taking place "behind the scenes" of a political campaign for office.For a basic plot summary, "Ides" deals primarily with Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling), who is working on the campaign of presidential-hopeful Mike Morris (George Clooney). With the campaign seemingly headed in the right direction, Myers suddenly finds himself involved with a girl (Evan Rachel Wood), at odds with his boss (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and even being recruited by the opposing candidate's top campaign man (Paul Giamatti). Much emotion and many moral quandaries ensue.The hallmark of this film is that it is always one step ahead of the viewer. You might think you know what the plot and characters are heading towards, but it never quite turns out that way. I can't even categorize this film style as "twists & turns", but rather just out-thinking the audience. "Ides" seems to know exactly what you will be thinking, and then challenges that notion.The pacing is very good as well. Never, while viewing, did I feel bored or want things to "pick up". "Ides" did a remarkable job of telling a story not especially inherent with action, yet making it an explosive film nonetheless. Director Clooney likely deserves a good share of the credit for this.Of course, it only helps that the cast is star-studded, to say the least. Gosling keeps proving (time and again in 2011!) that he is every bit a leading man, while Clooney and the rest are all at their best. Each cast member adds a little something different to the overall puzzle.Overall, I consider "The Ides of March" to be a great political film. Admittedly, I am a sucker for such cinema, but about the only negative thing I can say about the experience was that I wished it were longer...the film ends so abruptly that you really never see it coming! Other than that, though, this movie will keep you engaged and make you think about its topics.
Hitchcoc
George Clooney plays a governor who is running for President. He is one of two serious candidates for the Democratic nomination. He is a bit too good to be true. He is adamant about the standard liberal issues and won't back down on them. Ryan Gosling plays his number two man along with campaign manager Philip Seymour Hoffman. One day Gosling makes a serious error. He goes to see the campaign manager of the other candidate. This is an absolute no no. His head is on the block. During this time he has a quick tryst with the daughter of the Democratic National Committee. She gives him a bit of information that could throw things into the septic system. Meanwhile, he is fired. Wanting his job back, he acts. This is really dirty politics and probably the kind of thing that is done behind the scenes all the time. Not a great political drama, but still very engaging.
Suradit
If you haven't been watching House of Cards or following the news at any time since you were old enough to comprehend what was going on, it may come as a surprise to you that politics is a dirty business, that politicians can be pretty sleazy, that political campaigns & cesspools have a lot in common ... but probably not. And, if you paid attention in history class or read Julius Caesar and recall the soothsayer telling Caesar " beware the ides of March," you probably anticipated there might be a bit of backstabbing taking place. Throw in a pregnant campaign intern, a suicide, the usual palace intrigue & standard Washington, DC Machiavellianism and there you are.That's pretty much the problem with the Ides of March. It's all pretty obvious and predictable. No suspense or cliffhangers. No original plot twists & turns. If you're into political drama, you'll probably enjoy this movie. Watching Ryan Gosling for 90 minutes or so is a pleasant experience. Philip Seymour Hoffman turned in a credible performance of a two-dimensional character. Clooney appeared to have phoned in his performance, which is odd since he's credited as both writer & director as well. Possibly multi-tasking is too great a burden for him to bear. Full of (muted) sound and (tepid) fury, signifying same-old-same- old.
AD
