The Ides of March

The Ides of March is a political film about the inner workings of a presidential campaign.  Specifically, it follows George Clooney's character, Governor Mike Morris, around a few states as he campaigns for the Democratic nomination in a presidential primary.  I am a professional lobbyist so I have a familiar background to help understand this movie.  That said, this movie was still a bit of an enigma.

The story of this film attempts to get into the deep dark inner workings of a political campaign.  The deals made between politicians, the dirt that surfaces during a campaign, and the fact that everyone would basically kill the other in order to win.  This is of course where the movie gets its name.  The Ides of March is appropriately titled because in this movie everyone stabs each other in the back!

This movie stars George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, and Evan Rachel Wood.  All of the actors are really superb.  I'm a big fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman and think he is basically fantastic in everything.  I would say the only weak link in this movie is Marisa Tomei. She plays a reporter trying to dig up dirt on anyone and everything.  She just doesn't fit.

The movie is good but, there is a big too much "Hollywood" drama that wouldn't normally take place on the campaign trail for this to be completely realistic.  That said, I think the overall atmosphere is pretty accurate and this movie does a nice job of telling that story.  In the end though, it just isn't that interesting of a story unless you're a political wonk.