The Ides of March (7/10)

December 26th, 2011

Duplicitous politicians and power-crazed kingmakers abound in George Clooney’s The Ides of March, set against the Democratic primary campaign that has wended its weary way to Ohio, a make-or-break state for any would-be Presidents. Clooney directs and, as he generally does when doing double-duty, takes a lesser role here as the seemingly perfect candidate, Governor Mike Morris. I say seemingly because he is, after all, a politician.

I remember, a few years ago, an attempt I made to try to understand the American political system. I’m afraid I failed miserably. It was just after I’d seen Primary Colors, and I was fascinated with the machinations and intrigue that comes as part and parcel of the electoral process – a process that always to me at least seemed to go on for way too long. Why should it be that a President spends one quarter of his term of office campaigning for the next one? Surely that time could be better used elsewhere. Still, that is what America has, and that is what this film uses as a backdrop for its real purpose – but what that purpose is, I’m not at all sure.

Governor Morris has two main aides in his quest for the nomination. Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is the campaign manager, the man who has the ultimate yay or nay on any given situation, and the film’s central figure, press secretary Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) is the other. Morris is ahead in the polls due to a combination of his own charm, Zara’s nous and Meyers’ campaign acumen. Zara, we understand, is doing the job because it’s what he does: this time it’s Morris, next time it’ll be some other hotshot wanting to be President. Meyers, on the other hand, truly believes in his governor. The speeches he writes are passionate, thought-provoking and innovative, and when delivered with requisite amounts of syrupy charm they’re irresistible. Illusions, though, are about to be shattered, and it all starts in an unlikely setting over beer nuts and suds in a Cincinnati sports bar.

Here at Pick ‘n’ Mix there’s a list of actors I’d watch in practically anything. The Ides of March has four of these actors. It also concerns politics, and doesn’t pander to is audience. Why, then, was I not as impressed as I thought I’d be? Too much expectation, perhaps? Clooney as a director has never let me down before. And yet, in a way, this is a typical Clooney movie in its slavish attention to atmospheric detail, just as it was when his focus was on 1950s television or the birth of professional American football. The Suave One also makes sure his fingerprints are all over its contents, too, despite it not being his original work. By allowing all participants to be Democrats, he can safely dodge any finger-pointing that might have come his way were they Republican instead, and at the same time he can use this Democrat politician to voice some of the things he himself cares about. The (hopelessly idealistic) suggestion that a politician proving popular on a mandate of a commitment to put American youth into community service and a firm policy concerning alternative fuel is less about Morris than it is about Clooney and his campaigning. It’s actually a fiendishly clever tactic, when you think about it.

What the movie lacks, though, is the wit that one normally associates with a Clooney film. The Ides of March is dry and based on serious dialogue – an adaptation of a play can only mask its roots rather than hide them altogether – and could have done with a little levity here and there. Instead, its earnestness pervades. Having said that, I reckon I’d be recommending it a lot higher were it to star no-name actors and a first time director. The fact that it contains so many elements high on my wish list meant that it was almost inevitable that I’d be disappointed. Ultimately, I’m not sure if I believed in the situation. Primary Colors, despite being a comedy, still sets the benchmark for electoral movies (if you discount Swing Vote, snicker), with Wag the Dog not far behind. Even though The Ides of March has thoroughbreds aplenty doing what they do best, this is a film I vote for only because of the lack of alternatives - a bit like New Labour, I guess.