"Beware the Ides of March". This was a quote from Shakesphere when the Soothsayer warns Julius Cesar of his impending assassination. The Ides of March is also the title of the new movie staring, produced and directed by Sexiest Man AliveGeorge Clooney, and can I say Mr. Clooney has pulled out all the stops on this one. It is a polished drama with twists and turns throughout.
The Ides of March is set in the last days of the presidential campaign Ohio preliminaries with presidential candidate Mike Morris (Clooney). The movie is centred around Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) an up and coming press secretary who finds himself embroiled in a political scandal when Governor Morris' competitor Senator Ted Pullman's (Michael Mantell) campaign manager played by Paul Giamatti asks him for a private meeting.
From here the story descends into political intrigue and moral dilemma, but don't let the politics put you off, this is one of the best movies I've seen this summer. The cast is fantastic and full of heavy hitters at their best, along with Clooney and Gosling (Crazy Stupid Love, The Notebook), other players include Academy Award winners Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote, Almost Famous) and Marissa Tomei (Crazy, Stupid Love, The Wrestler) and Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale) and Evan Rachel Wood (The Wrestler, True Blood).
Gosling shows that he has what it takes to be one of the greats, not just another pretty face, as the central character to this thriller, Gosling portrays Meyers as young and innocent, someone who is pulled in beyond his depth and is faced with the burning issue, do you follow your morals or push them all aside for money and power.
Which way does Meyers go? Well I'll leave that for you to discover. I highly recommend The Ides of March, this is one of the best political thrillers I have seen in a long time. George Clooney should be commended for putting together such a tightly written and directed movie, in a time where all that is needed for a movie to be a hit is a beautiful cast of young stars. The characters are superbly acted and you'll stay glued to the screen right up until the end.
