Directed by: George Clooney
Starring: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright, Evan Rachel Wood
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 101 minutes
Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Normally, I stay far away from political dramas but this drew me in with its one hell of a powerful cast. George Clooney not only co-stars he directs, produces and co-wrote this film. Ryan Gosling continues to take over the world of acting. Paul Giamatti also gives a great performance and has great execution on his lines. Which brings me to discuss the dialogue in the film. It is so sharp and leaves you hanging on every next word. The pacing of the film is also so fast yet very precise and well planned. This is a must to check out for sure if you haven’t already.
The story follows Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling), the Junior Campaign Manager, who is working with for Mike Morris (George Clooney), Governor of Pennsylvania, as they are campaigning to win the preliminaries for Ohio and secure the candidacy for the Democratic party. Of course in any political race there is lies, deceit and cover-ups. All that and more is included in this story and it asks the question: How much are you will to give up to win and how far are you looking to go?
The special features are a decent overall are are mostly saved by a strong commentary track from George Clooney and co-writer/co-producer Grant Heslov. It is a great companion to the film as they discuss the making-of elements of the film. Definitely enjoyable. Next up, the feature “Believe: George Clooney” features Clooney talking about wearing all the different hates on this production. Lastly “On the Campaign: The Cast of The Ides of March” is a short discussion with the actors in the film about the film and their roles. Even though the extras are short they still leave you mostly satisfied. Though in case you are looking for more the Blu-ray release contains more extras than the DVD.
