A highly anticipated offering at the recently wrapped Toronto International Film Festival, The Ides of March is, as the title implies, a tale of betrayal, deceit and political corruption.
Under the direction of George Clooney and with an impressive cast of Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti and Marisa Tomei, Ides was obviously a popular choice. And although it has been receiving mixed critical review, I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Part drama and a lot thriller, the film is simple yet riveting and extremely well cast. Gosling and Clooney may be the main attractions, but Hoffman, Giamatti and Tomei are, as always, exceptional in their supporting roles.
The Ides of March: The Story
Based on the play Farragut North by Beau Willimon, the story revolves around Stephen Myers (Gosling), an enthusiastic press secretary campaigning for presidential candidate Mike Morris (Clooney). Young, driven and full of belief in Morris, Myers suddenly finds himself stuck in the middle of a political scandal that could ruin their run for the White House and end his career before it has even started.
At the TIFF press conference in support of the film, the aforementioned along with fellow cast members Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, Max Minghella and writer Grant Heslov discussed the project and the essence of what it was about.
A Movie About Values, Not Politics
“I didn’t think this was really a political movie,” says Clooney. “I thought it was a film about moral choices. I saw it as a fun moral tale and once you put it in politics it amps up all the problems.”
When asked the inevitable about whether or not the film was based on any particular person or political agenda, Clooney responded: ”You’ve got to remember that films don’t lead the way…people a lot of times think that films somehow are trying to “lead society”…in general it takes about two years at the very least to get a film made. So mostly we’re reflecting the moods, the thoughts that are going on in our country or around the world. So this film reflects some of the cynicism that we’ve seen in recent times. That’s probably good; it’s not a bad thing to hold a mirror up and look at some of the things you’re doing. It’s not a bad thing to look at how we elect our officials. But that wasn’t what the film was designed to do. Honestly the idea was for us, that there isn’t a person you’ve ever met that hasn’t been faced with certain moral questions. Every one of us has had that idea of ‘well, if I take this job which is better, I might be screwing over my boss, who I like’. Everybody makes moral choices that better themselves and hurt someone else along the way. And it’s about whether or not the means justify the ends. That to me is universal and it could have been literally anywhere…so that was our point.”
Clooney on Gosling
And as to an opinion of his leading man?
“Listen…I think he knocks it out of the park,” says Clooney. “This is a very difficult role; you’ve got to be the center of a hurricane and you have to carry everyone and everybody’s point of view on your shoulders. It requires intelligence in an actor…which doesn’t always happen for some reason! Working with Ryan was just a delight and working with all these actors makes it very easy. Ryan gives just a tremendous performance in this film and I’m honoured that he and everyone else fit it.”
Gosling on Clooney
Clooney’s affection for Gosling was certainly mutual. Speaking as to what it was like to work under his direction, Gosling recalls: “It’s great to work with a director who’s as clear as George is and who knows exactly what he wants. Sometimes it felt like someone trying to explain a song that was in their head. He knew this film inside and out and I was surprised by his level of enthusiasm, just for filming and in general. All he wanted to do was talk about the film and break it down; he would talk you through the scenes and he would even hum what he thought the music might be like. He was very clear and he would give you this incredible direction and it was so focused and you were ready to do this scene…and then he’d walk away and you’d realize that he was spraying an Evian bottle on your crotch. And then he’d make you do your big scene with Phil Hoffman or Paul Giamatti with wet pants.”
Practical jokes aside, Clooney was clearly inspirational to Gosling, who by all indication is Hollywood’s newest “It” man. “George was possessed by this film,” he says. “It was nice for a change to just be directed. I just trusted him and allowed him to take me into his world."
The Ides of March opens in theatres on October 7, 2011.
Rating: 4/5
Ramona Zacharias - Ramona has been a freelance writer for ten years, focusing on arts, entertainment and pop culture, with a more recent dabbling in travel. ...
