Would you vote for Governor Mike Morris for president? Chances are many of us would. He certainly seems like the perfect US presidential candidate as he contests the Ohio Democratic primary, combining the looks of George Clooney (he is played by George Clooney, after all) with charm, charisma and intelligence. Surely, come November, the White House will be his. But is he the real deal?
Idealistic Junior Campaign Manager Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling) certainly seems to think so. Working hard, Myers is determined to secure his man victory. However he has had a lot on his plate lately: keeping the press (cynical journalist Marisa Tomei) happy, attending to the needs of his overstressed boss (Philip Seymour Hoffman, excellent). And then there’s Evan Rachel Wood’s attractive intern. And why does the campaign manager of Morris’s opponent want to speak to him so urgently?
Based on Beau Willamon’s play, Farragut North, Clooney’s film is an intelligent political thriller in the vein of 70s classics like Michael Ritchie’s The Candidate. Although in a supporting role, Clooney’s Governor (a character who didn’t even appear in the original play) is in many ways the most interesting thing in the movie, raising multiple questions. Would a candidate as liberal as Morris ever win the White House? He does, after all, have no real religion and is openly opposed to the internal combustion engine.
When asked the standard candidate’s question on TV would you favour the death penalty for someone convicted of killing his wife? Morris replies he would not but if someone was convicted he would find “some other way to kill them. I’d love to see a candidate say this on the TV in the US but fear it would be electoral suicide if they actually did. Clooney does, however, succeed in portraying a credible candidate who, for once, does not remind the audience of any existing politician past or present. Certainly not Howard “I had a scream Dean, whose 2004 presidential campaign partly inspired the play.
The bonus features are strong and while some interest in US politics would definitely help, the combination of Gosling, Clooney and Wood should be popular (and genuinely talented) enough to win over most of the electorate.
Overall Verdict: A sharp, well-acted political thriller that goes some way towards filling the post-West Wing void.
Special Features:
Audio Commentary with Director/Co-writer/Actor George Clooney and Co-Writer/Producer Grant Heslov.
Developing The Campaign Featurette
On the Campaign: The Cast of The Ides of March Featurette
Believe: George Clooney Featurette
Reviewer: Chris Hallam