Many of my favorite TV shows seem to keep going on random hiatus, leaving me with plenty of time to catch up on my Netflix queue. This weekend I finally got to see "The Ides of March" starring Ryan Gosling and George Clooney. Hello, dream team.
"The Ides of March" is like "The West Wing" meets "The Good Wife" meets "24." You are continually in suspense and continually shocked (and sometimes horrified) by the twists and turns in the lives of these characters. Oh, political campaigns!
In the film Ryan Gosling plays Stephen, the assistant campaign director for Georg Clooney's character, a governor running for president. The movie is based on the play "Farragut North" by Beau Willimon.
As the rising star politician, George Clooney is complete and total perfection. Perhaps it's because in his real life he champions many causes and is used to public speaking, or perhaps it's because he's just an exceptional actor. He's is exactly the right balance of charming and slimy.
Ryan Gosling is carving out a niche for himself as the emotionally tortured man. Though all slightly different, the one thing all of his best roles have in common is a deep rooted pain or longing to be included/respected (see "Lars and the Real Girl" and "Blue Valentine"). In this role, Gosling will do anything to rise to the top and chase the career path he has laid out for himself.
Gosling has amazing chemistry in the film with his love interest Molly, played by Evan Rachel Wood. These two were absolutely amazing together. For those who saw the movie, when Molly's phone rings and Stephen answers it, I thought the call would either reveal that she's a prostitute or that she's a spy for the other presidential candidate. Boy was I wrong!
The Molly storyline surprised me, as did Paul Giamatti's character screwing over Stephen and his position in the campaign. That was brilliant!
In addition to the all star cast, the griping script and the edge-of-your-seat suspense, "The Ides of March" was shot beautifully and thoughtfully. The cinematography was genius.
When the credits rolled I was reminded that George Clooney actually directed the movie. He has a great eye. In fact, visually "The Ides of March" was everything I had wished "Moneyball" could be. Brad, George, sit down and have a talk.
If you like political thrillers, you must see "The Ides of March."
*Images courtesy of Idesofmarch-movie.com.
