The Ides of March (2011)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The first half of the movie was somewhat promising, but some twists that succeeded I found inexplicable. Furthermore, I'm not quite sure this is the right picture of how politics are (at least from what I hear from other sources), and some scenes just seem to be left "hanging" like they don't affect the further development of the story. I simply feel that this is one relatively confined view on the topic itself. On the other hand, the acting was very well done, everyone played that part beyond average, which is a shame because I didn't buy into the plot itself.DISCLAIMER : Everything stated in this review is entirely matter of personal opinion and doesn't have to coincide with the opinions of other reviewers

The Ides Of MarchThe scrutiny is built up with sincerity and sensibly that doesn't alarm the viewers at all and keeps it mysterious and glorifying on its own terms whilst chewing off the inner circle of the characters that they all reside in. The writing is strong, thought-provoking, engaging and unpredictable that helps keep the viewers on the edge of the seat and offers enough homework to them which fortunately is worth working on and justifying too. The camera work is decent but isn't shot amazingly and is neither impressive on sound department, editing and other technical aspects of it. George Clooney; the screenwriter and director, has done a decent work on execution but it doesn't live up to its script which is utterly stunning. The performance objective is satisfied and the reason is the star power and their hard work which is clearly visible in here especially by Ryan Gosling and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The energy of the cinema is the primary reason why it fails to connect with each individual audience as there aren't much mutual combinations locked by the makers. The Ides Of March is a convoluted mishap of politics which is infomercial and accurate but also unfortunately easily forgetful.

Democrats vs Republicans. Honestly surprised we don't have more films about political debates! The reason why I compared this to chess was due to the intelligent methodology that these campaigns used against each other. A glimpse into the inner workings of a political campaign and how simply one mistake could cost a senator the presidential seat. Acknowledging every move your opponent makes and having to predict what they will do. Most importantly though, this is a film about loyalty and how it is the most important trait to acquire in the world of politics. Believing in an idealism even if the man representing that ideology is not entirely innocent or perfect. This is George Clooney's baby; he directed, wrote, produced and starred in the film...I was mightily impressed. The political sub-genre is a guilty pleasure of mine and really showcases some excellent concise screenplays. It's no different here, I was captivated from start to end. A talented and likeable cast certainly helped, particularly Ryan Gosling who just keeps on excelling in every role he gets. Hoffman, Clooney, Giamatti, Tomei...the list goes on and every one of them gives a cold stern performance. Politics is harsh and the screenplay really hones in on campaigns doing anything they can to win. Corruption, persuasion, blackmailing...the brutal reality of politics have negative effects on campaigners, so much so that their lives could potentially be destroyed. Absolutely fascinating, although slightly hyperbolic. I did find the ending slightly underwhelming and frustrating, probably because it's the ending I didn't want. However, this is utterly enthralling with a tight script and excellent cast. I would like to live in a world where George Clooney runs for president. Make it happen.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Ides Of March. It is a very good look into the dirty side of politics behind all the handshakes, speeches and smiles.The acting is extremely solid. Clooney and Gosling are fantastic and are very well supported by Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti. All of these four are very well developed in the movie and their interactions come off as very real and very believable. Evan Rachel Wood is also a great addition to the cast and throws a nice curve ball into the plot.I don't really have any negatives to report. If I was being picky, the film does drag just a touch in places, but not to the extent where you lose connection to the plot.All in all, a very good film which I would recommend as a real life look into the less crowd pleasing side of party politics.