Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15 in Movie
• Released on: 2012-01-17
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Running time: 102 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

56 of 62 people found the following review helpful.
The Year's Best Cast In A Well Made Film That Fails To Break Any New Ground In The Political Drama Genre
By K. Harris
There's nothing that I enjoy more than an adult political thriller with its smarts, scandal and cynicism front and center. Therefore, I was over-the-moon in anticipation for George Clooney's "The Ides of March." Director Clooney has assembled one of the year's most impressive casts including Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, and Clooney himself. It's a dream team and every performance is exemplary. And yet, despite the heavy hitters at the top of their game, the actual story behind "The Ides of March" is pretty familiar and, frankly, a tad underwhelming. I certainly wanted to and expected to like this movie, even love it, but it simply offers little new to the well-worn genre of political drama. Adapted from the 2008 play "Farragut North" by Beau Willimon, the narrative revolves around a Democratic primary with the standard amount of political hubris and idealistic disillusionment. It's really a very tight story highlighting the arc of Gosling's character and while the limited scope might have made for a focused play, it seems all so less-than-shocking (even typical or expected) on the big screen.

Gosling plays a principled staffer working for Governor Mike Morris (Clooney) as he fights to attain his party's nomination in the Democratic primary. Taking place almost exclusively on the campaign trail, we see that Gosling's idealism, savvy, and energetic commitment have made him invaluable to the presidential candidate. He works alongside Hoffman (in another characteristically great performance), spars with Giamatti from the rival candidate's camp, flirts with Wood as a beautiful young intern, is cagey with Tomei as an ambitious reporter, and trades nuggets of wisdom with the great man Clooney. Over the course of the primary, however, Gosling will come to confront the truth inherent in our political system and in humanity. If you place someone on a pedestal, they are surely in for a fall. But Gosling must grow up quick, open his eyes, and determine if he will be defeated by his disillusionment or become complicit in the complexities of the political machine.

In a year in which Ryan Gosling could do no wrong from romantic comedy (Crazy, Stupid, Love) to art house actioner (Drive) to this high profile endeavor--it's hard not to commend his versatility. Here, it is easy to see the brash young brilliance of his character, but that just makes his naivete all the more startling. The "shocking" turning point of the film is hardly shocking at all if one watches the news with any regularity, and yet it seems to completely undermine this insanely intelligent and politically astute character. And just as things ramp up for a turn-around, the film ends without a huge degree of payoff. I just feel that we've covered this corruption of innocence angle so many times, nothing felt particularly surprising or revelatory about "The Ides of March." I would still recommend the film, especially for the performances, but it lacks the groundbreaking allure that would define it as a classic. Clooney is terrific and full of easy charm as the candidate, Giamatti gets all the best lines (that must be in all of his contracts), and Hoffman is easily our most steadfast and reliable character actor. I just wish they, along with the great Gosling, had more to say that hadn't been said countless times before. About 3 1/2 stars. KGHarris, 12/11.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful.
It Is Ryan Gosling's Year
By carol irvin
Despite the exalted cast in this movie, don't be fooled. it is Ryan Gosling's movie, just like it has been his year in acting in general. This is both the movie's strength and its weakness. In order to give him a dilemma, the screenplay picks a rather hackneyed problem which detracts from all this stellar acting.

George Clooney directed it and he has no problem playing the charming, good looking Democratic governor, who is very reminiscent of JFK. This is all too true of his eye for the ladies as well, which leads into the dilemma at the heart of the movie. Ryan Gosling works for the candidate. He has a fleeting relationship with a young woman, whom it turns out has had an even more fleeting relationship with the Governor.

While he's involved with the young woman, he also gets caught in the cross fire between two more seasoned political veterans played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giametti. Both of them play fairly detestable characters. In fact, the Gosling character is the only one who isn't entrenched in the deep mud of the political world. This movie is his education about what he's let himself in for by choosing politics as his arena. And it's either get down in the mud and play with these old hands or leave.

Most of the action takes place in Cincinnati Ohio because the Governor is running in the important Ohio primary for President. Everyone does a good job but if this was indeed the plot of the stage play, then I would have liked to seen it made less trite for the screenplay. There is nothing in here plot wise that you haven't been watching for decades.

17 of 23 people found the following review helpful.
Overloaded Political Drama Somehow Misses the Mark Despite Its Exalted Credentials
By Ed Uyeshima
There is precious little that is more frustrating than watching a film with a platinum-caliber cast fall short of expectations, but that was exactly my reaction to George Clooney's 2011 smart, engrossing adaptation of Beau Willimon's 2008 play, which in turn, was loosely based on the failed 2004 Democratic primary campaign of Howard Dean. Clooney shares screenwriting credit with frequent collaborator Grant Heslov (Good Night, and Good Luck) and Willimon, and together they provide some insight into the inner workings of the American political system. The movie starts out strong and the dialogue feels quite sharp, but the plot twists turn out to be far less about the subtle intricacies in the current political scene and more about classic Hollywood themes like honor and loyalty. This cautious approach results in a film that is far more conventional in execution than I was hoping it would be based on the trailers.

The story focuses on Stephen Meyers, a young politico who is the junior campaign manager for the charismatic Mike Morris, the governor of Pennsylvania who is looking to secure the Democratic nomination for the presidency. Competing against Senator Ted Pullman of Arkansas, Morris is looking to lock down the Ohio primary, but his surest chance for victory ride on getting an endorsement from Senator Thompson of North Carolina, who is pulling out of the election. After a hotly contested debate, Pullman's campaign manager Tom Duffy sets Meyer aside and confidentially asks him to switch camps and work for Pullman. Flattered and understandably paranoid, Meyers keeps this offer a secret from his boss, Morris senior campaign manager Paul Zara. Further complicating matters is Molly Stearns, an intern whom Meyers beds only to find out she had a previous liaison with Morris. She also happens to be the daughter of the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. A fair amount of Machiavellian-level deception and double-crossing among the campaign managers leads to one suicide and Meyers ultimately reconsidering his ideals in pursuit of success and revenge.

The performances are as solid as you would expect. Clooney effortless brings his savvy and charm to Morris in a way that makes you wish Obama could pick up pointers from him. If Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman were anything less than stellar as Duffy and Zara respectively, that would have been far more surprising. What would have been more interesting is if the actors switched roles as they would be playing less to their usual archetypes. Evan Rachel Wood effectively plays the pivotal role of Molly, bringing an intriguing mix of youthful moxie and vulnerability to her character's actions, while Marisa Tomei provides just the right level of cynicism to her New York Times reporter (...will she ever return to starring roles?). Jeffrey Wright is criminally underused in just a few scenes as Thompson, but Max Minghella (the late director Anthony's son) lends sharpness to his minor role as a nakedly ambitious member of the Morris campaign staff. At the center of it all, Ryan Gosling proves he has the gravity to carry a mainstream movie, even one as fully loaded as this one. I only wish the film itself was more surprising and insightful than it was.