In an age when political campaigns start earlier and earlier, making a film about the inner workings of a democratic primary campaign seems like a good idea. What’s generally not a good idea is for a film to be carried entirely on dialogue. The Ides of March is George Clooney’s intense study of politics, putting the cinematic microscope over a governor’s campaign to become the democratic candidate in the upcoming presidential election, and yes, this film is heavy on the talking.

But when you watch this film, you won’t notice it. You’ll be too swept up in the whirlwind world of politics too even have time to care. In the cruel game to get elected, anything goes as long as you can keep it quiet, and if you slow down, no one will stop to pick you up.

Ryan Gosling plays the hotshot political advisor, Stephen Meyers, the guy behind Governor Mike Morris’s brilliant political campaign. He knows every single detail about every single issue. He manipulates the governor to the point that Morris (played by Clooney) becomes less than human, amounting to a mere mass of sound-bites and false promises-whatever it takes to win him the White House. Meyers does it all while projecting an aura of cool, calm, and suave. During the setup for a debate, he insists that the podiums be raised so that Morris can read his notes. However, the way in which the taller podiums seem to dwarf Morris’s already short opponent seem to curiously suggest that Morris may not actually have eye problems. It’s a glimpse of Meyers’ callused morals that slowly begin to surface as the film progresses, and it’s this potential for ingenious ruthlessness that has the competition scared and desperate. They ask to recruit him, and he meets with them but declines the offer. Seems innocent enough. But things are never as they seem and there are always ulterior motives in this cutthroat world, and the meeting soon becomes the hot news topic of the week. Then all hell breaks loose…

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(Read the full review @ mediaocu.com: http://mediaocu.com/2011/12/18/oscar-watch-the-ides-of-march-returns-to-theaters/)

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