Ides of March - Film short Review

Ides of March as defined in most dictionaries represents the 15th of March, the day Julius Cesar was assassinated in Rome. I tried very hard to find the correlation between the title of the film and the actual meaning of the term while I watched the movie last night and for the life of me I couldn't find it. Perhaps I was oblivious to the analogy since I was extremely tired but when I woke this morning, it all made sense to me. Clever George Clooney… very clever.


You see the film is about, not so much an American Governor trying to become the President of the United States of Messiness, but the indication that no matter who is running, the corruption of politics exists one way or another. However, the true story is about the young ambitious lad who was the campaign manager (portrayed PERFECTLY BY RYAN GOSLING) of the insignificant Governor (Played by George Clooney) running the Presidential race. Although the lad possessed highly ethical work standards, at the end realized no matter what, he must conform to the ways of dirty politics to get to survive or in this case salvage his career. So, the analogy between the title made and what transpired onscreen was the “attempted in this case”  assassination of the young ambitious campaign manager and his rise above the ashes to redeem what is rightfully his.

Now, the film had an extremely slow start, border-lining boredom the first 35 minutes - which we all know is necessary to pave the way to the punch line, however, if you are patient enough, which in this case, I highly recommend, the next 65 minutes will have you on the edge of your seat with the twist and turns of a day in the life of a campaign manager gone wrong. The screenplay, cleverly written by George Clooney was transilated into a well written script. Not only was it clear, but in  modern lingo, which is always helpful for those politically challenged individuals who shy away from such films.

I also believe the film didn’t get the best reviews, but that is not a good enough reason to avoid it. It is a very good film and worth watching because of, first and foremost, Ryan Gosling’s outstanding performance. Second, Clooney's ability to deliver a solid product. I think the only downfall was Marisa Tomei, who in my opinion wasn’t cast right for the role and Paul Giamatti who didn’t shine as he normally did in all his work. But, all in all the film worked.
I do recommend the film, more so before the award season, so that we can all actually make a fair assessment as to who the winner of this year’s awards should be.