Photo by: idesofmarch-movie.com
Loyalty meets backlash in the form of backstabbing and corruption in “The Ides of March,” the latest film from actor-director George Clooney.
In his fourth film behind the camera, Clooney blazes a scarring trail aimed directly at attacking the moral weakness of those vying for political power.
No character depicts the sleaziness and amorality of politicians better than Clooney’s Mike Morris, a Pennsylvania governor square in the heat of a complicated Ohio Democratic presidential primary, who acts the part of an innovative and idealistic political thinker. However, Morris lacks the intelligence to do it on his own, electing to rely heavily on campaign manager Paul Zara (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and press secretary Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling).
This reliance on his brain trust is not Morris’ weakness though; rather, he is a character coated with flaws and dipped repeatedly in liberal disillusionment, which provides him with multiple layers of ignorance and leaves him susceptible to the highest degree of unethical political decisions.
In the 2008 play “Farragut North,” which is the film’s source material, the Morris character is never seen; rather, the characters running the show are the focus. This is an important distinction between the two works, because here Morris is depicted as the weakest of all the characters. However, he is the one with the most potential future responsibility.
Although the men behind the curtain are important character studies of their own, including Paul Giamatti’s Tom Duffy, who works for the opposing candidate, it is the Morris character that is most alarmingly disturbing because he has so much to gain, yet is unafraid of the consequences of his amoral actions.
Someone is always there to clean up after him, and that’s where Gosling’s Myers takes over as the film’s protagonist, or antagonist depending on viewpoint and interpretation.
Clooney does a praiseworthy job trekking Gosling through the behind-the-scenes networks of political campaigning as Duffy sets up what he calls a “win-win” meeting that lures Myers just enough to ignite the powder keg that has been manufactured through Morris’ corruptibility.
Morris isn’t the only character to have a flaw that sparks the inferno. Zara’s over-virtuous belief in loyalty, Myers’ ambition to work for the president and Duffy’s greed to win are all viable culprits in how the plot uncoils.
It’s blatant early on in the film that one wrong choice or mistake could cost you everything, so these guys are all playing with fire throughout the plot. What’s frightening is they know how and when to use it.
Duffy instigates a story that attracts New York Times writer Ida Horowicz (Marisa Tomei), which in turn causes a rift between Myers and Zara.
With his brain trust divided, Morris’ campaign is shorthanded and exploding at the seams as Myers’ over zealousness for the presidential hopeful is washed away upon discovering a game-changing secret.
Gosling (“Drive,” “Blue Valentine”) excels once again in this fast paced thriller as Myers becomes a man with all the leverage and an important choice to be made.
He could exploit his ace-in-the-hole Molly Stearns (played delectably by Evan Rachel Wood), or he could bury what he knows and allow Morris to waltz right into the White House.
The film leaves the audience at a moral crossroads of sorts as the once idealistic campaign staffer looks blankly into a camera that brings him to a worldwide audience.
We don’t get to hear what he tells them, but whether it’s the truth or fiction, one thing is abundantly clear: “The Ides of March” is a film that can’t walk off silently into the night.
It makes a statement with its silent, abstract ending, establishing a line between what is morally correct and what is morally incorrect. The film sends an ironically potent message: to achieve loyalty to the common good you may have to betray your individual desires.
