My film-editor brother has a maxim: "You can cut 15 minutes out of anything." But that maxim may have met its match with George Clooney's The Ides of March, a lean, efficient political thriller that races so quickly to its conclusion you may be shocked when it's over. In an age of long-winded flicks that leave audiences clawing at the cup holders, this is a welcome surprise. Within its brisk 90 minutes, Clooney packs Ides full of intrigue, scandal, politicking, and a host of excellent, nuanced performances.
Ryan Gosling stars as Stephen Myers, a campaign ace and number-two man working for Pennsylvania Governor Mike Morris (Clooney) in his race to lock up the Democratic nomination for president. Myers is a master at media manipulation, one of those guys who sends reporters scurrying to ask the opposing candidate when he stopped beating his wife. But as a true believer in Morris, he's also a naive idealist who will learn some hard lessons about playing on the big stage of national politics.
Between Myers and Morris is campaign manager Paul Zara (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), a grizzled vet who values loyalty above all else. Also in the campaign office is Molly Sterns (Evan Rachel Wood, holding her own in the boys' club), a pretty intern who's been angling for Myers' attention for a while and has finally caught it. The team is in Ohio, where they think they're about to seal up the nomination, when rival campaign manager Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) calls Myers with some game-changing news and an explosive job offer.
I won't go into anything else about the plot, but I will say that I found Ides of March gripping from beginning to end. Based on the 2008 play Farragut North by Beau Willimon, itself loosely based on the 2004 campaign of Democratic scream queen Howard Dean, Ides plays like a harder-edged Primary Colors, though one less concerned with the candidate's cult of personality and more focused on the ways our electoral system is by its very nature morally bankrupt. The film marks Clooney's fourth directorial effort, and it's also his best.
While Clooney the director shines, George the actor wisely takes a back seat to his talented cast. Building off the momentum from breakout performances in Crazy, Stupid, Love and Drive, Gosling is terrific once again, and completely convincing in a very different role. His scenes with Hoffman crackle, as do his verbal battles with Marisa Tomei's New York Times reporter. And I've purposely stayed away from discussing Evan Rachel Wood's work — it's impossible without giving up too much of the plot — but this is the best I've seen from her.
With its fall release and air of import, Ides should prove to be irresistible Oscar bait. I can see Clooney (for directing), Gosling, Hoffman and Giamatti all grabbing nominations, but I don't think the film ultimately rises to the level of a Best Picture. (When you get down to it, Ides is more soap opera for political junkies than the type of deep-ideas movie the Academy loves.) That said, I loved every second and hope someone turns this material into a mini-series. Ninety minutes with these characters just isn't long enough.
This article appears in Oct 6-12, 2011.