Movie reviews

DIRTY tricks and skulduggery at the heart of an election campaign?

Surely not.

The Ides of March (15A) follows idealistic young political strategist Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) as he is fired in the kiln of an election to decide the next Democratic contender for the American presidency. Meyers’ man is Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney), a squeaky-clean liberal who looks perfect for the White House, but the story — directed by Clooney — focuses on Meyers, who is head-hunted by the opposition’s strategist, Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti). The intrigue grows more complex when Meyers discovers a potentially ruinous secret about Morris, forcing him to make some very pragmatic decisions about what is best for himself, for America and democracy itself. The Ides of March bears more than a passing resemblance to Robert Redford’s The Candidate (1972), but the screenwriters (with Clooney among them) offer a human story to put flesh on the bones of the dancing skeletons. Meyers’ transformation from hopeful optimist to dead-eyed cynic is subtly handled by Gosling in a performance that stands out despite the quality of the ensemble cast, which includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffery Wright, Evan Rachel Wood and Marisa Tomei, alongside Clooney and Giamatti. The pace is slow but the tale is a gripping one with echoes of classical Greek tragedy, and Clooney is cheeky enough to include a nod to The Godfather to boot. This is a powerful, intelligent story of hubris and realpolitik, and the latest film to prove that George Clooney is rather more than just a pretty face.