The Ides of March
Bottom Line: Very watchable and absorbing.
“You can lie, you can cheat, you can start a war, you can bankrupt the country, but you can’t f–k the interns. They get you for that.” –Ryan Gosling as Stephen Meyers
Directed by: George Clooney
Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, George Clooney, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ryan Gosling
Engaging political drama centers on Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling), the second in command for the presidential campaign of Democratic Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney). Despite strong communications and decisions to make sure Morris cannot possibly lose his election, Meyers, an idealist who claims to believe in nothing but the U.S. Constitution, is facing a crash course. He is dealing with the opposing party, getting stabbed in the back by someone he has considered a friend, and his relationship with a twenty-year-old intern, while also bending his permissions in the campaign. The film is based on a recently-written play entitled Farragut North, which itself was based somewhat on the 2004 Democratic Primary campaign of Howard Dean. The title THE IDES OF MARCH is a much more fitting pick than the title of the play on which it is based. This title is a historical reference to Julius Caesar, who was (at least in William Shakespeare’s theatrical rendition) warned to “beware the ides of March”. On this time of which Caesar was warned, he was in the Roman Senate when he was stabbed to death by tens of people, one of whom was his longtime friend Marcus Junius Brutus. Ever since then, the phrase has been a common saying resembling betrayal. Though more verbal than violent in this film, the reference is quite clear, even if the film was released in the beginning of October.
