Governor Mike Morris (Clooney), who is running for the Ohio Primary, opens the picture denying his religious stance, instead fully embracing the U.S. Constitution. This aims to force a chuckle out of audience members as the remainder of the film makes strides to inform how adulterated political games truly are. But politics are no more complicated or significant than a simple game of backyard football, in which opposing teams resort to cunning, as a pragmatic approach will almost inevitably fail. In other words, with the confinements of a backyard, teams must employ juke moves, play-action passes, and trick plays all to outwit the other. There’s a beautiful little word for all of this madness that ensures within Ides: chicanery.
The dreamboat George Clooney makes his fourth directorial effort with a highly pertinent political-suspense drama, a star-studded cast (among them the likes of Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei), and a brisk, this-ain’t-your-first-rodeo DP.
The story alone is unequivocal: Clooney is a presidential prospect while his frank Senior Campaign Manager (Hoffman) and hotshot Junior Campaign Manager (Gosling) commandeer the ship, which, by the looks of it, could be headed for victory. Tomei plays the cute, yet gritty, New York Times columnist who is tracking the campaign’s every move. She makes her mark when telling Gosling, “politicians only let you down.” Wood, who entangles Gosling into her own issues, assumes the ethereal, borderline-lustful intern. Finally, Giamatti embodies the opposing Campaign Manager who ultimately serves as the puppet-master for the primary discord of the race.
“You made a choice, not a mistake.” “Loyalty is the only currency in politics.” “Society must be better than the individual.” “There are exceptions to every rule.” These pithy quips inundate the script to the degree where this review would be futile; I could have simply copy and pasted these tell-all maxims to hit home the verisimilitude of this film. But I didn’t. The sincere importance of Clooney’s feat lies in the implicit region. It coerces us to question the legitimacy and integrity of modern-day politics. It forces us to rethink the motives behind campaigns and their candidates. And, most upsettingly, it makes us concede to the fact that corruption and ego fuel the locomotive that is politics.
This twist-and-turn roller coaster paves the way for a fascinatingly meaty tale: corruption, lust, death, hush-hush, temptation, credulity, and trust. Each character beautifully grazes these elements to accrete substance in the raw storyline. We call this synthesis; when several unrelated components, each bearing something uniquely interesting, integrate in synchrony. Reservoir Dogs, Magnolia, Boogie Nights, Network: all cinematic treasures that fuse characters’ idiosyncrasies in a clean fashion. Movies are only great movies when the characters and story mutually complement one another.
Trust is a funny thing. Some thoughtlessly dole it out like that unmarried, bearded lady on Halloween. Others obscure it from anything outside of their own bodily domain. One thing is for certain, though: trust is a globally traded commodity. Every time dealings are made, trust is inextricably attached. A query stands tall: whom in God’s name can you trust when you can barely trust yourself?
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