The most important part of running a successful political campaign is creating belief in the candidate for voters. Without a believable candidate, the campaign becomes worthless and it cannot succeed. “The Ides of March” is like a campaign that thinks it has a great candidate and tries hard, but never fully utilizes its resources or crafts a successful message.
“The Ides of March,” directed by George Clooney, is the story of Stephen Meyers, played by Ryan Gosling, a Democratic campaign staffer. Meyers is a rising star in the Democratic Party, and for him, the sky appears to be the limit. The story takes place in Ohio in early March, weeks before the Ohio Democratic Primary. The candidate Meyers works for is Governor Mike Morris, played by George Clooney. Morris is the front-runner in the race and he appears to be destined for the White House with a win in the Ohio Primary and the endorsement of a key Senator in the state. A series of scandals begin to develop that could potentially derail Morris’s campaign, and the film goes from there.
Gosling is the star of the film and he is perhaps the only true bright spot in it. Stephen Meyers is believable as a character and enjoyable to watch. The script almost seems as though it was written only for Meyers to succeed as a character. Gosling is a brooding and soft-spoken actor, and in this film, his portrayal of Meyers is no different. His lines seem calculated and are well placed. The learning curve of Meyers is fast, and his development as a character is the only thing that makes the film worth finishing.
The cast is loaded with talent, but it ultimately fails to utilize that talent. Instead, the actors appear to be stereotypes of themselves.Clooney as Morris is perhaps the most flat of all the characters. Charming and seemingly even-tempered, he is the same Clooney who is in countless other films.
The story has moments of great wit and deception, but like the underutilized cast, the plot falls short and becomes so frivolous and unpredictable that is unbelievable. “The Ides of March” is a film that attempts to expose the dirty side of politics through an incredible scandal, but instead it feels contrived and unlikely.
The film is hardly predictable, but it is dry and ordinary. At the end I was not left wanting more, but instead felt like a voter disappointed in my choice of candidates, compelled not to walk into the polling place, but to stay at home.
RATING: 1.5 stars out of 4
