The Ides of March is a film based on the play by Beau Willimon called Farragut North written in 2008 that was loosely based on the 2004 Democratic Primary campaign of Howard Dean. The adapted screenplay was written and directed by George Clooney who also stars as Mike Morris, a presidential primary candidate for the Democrats. Ryan Gosling plays Stephen Meyers, a media consultant for Morris who works for Paul Zara (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). The events in the film take place in the days preceding the Ohio democratic primary election. A scandal ensues when a twenty year old intern (Evan Rachel Wood) who happens to be the daughter of the head of the Democratic National Committee gets pregnant with the Governor’s child and need’s an abortion. Meyer’s helps her out and is privy to the information. After meeting with the opposing candidate’s campaign man (Paul Giamatti) and being fired off the campaign for it, Meyer’s finds himself in a situation where his information could benefit him. Then, the intern winds up dead and Meyer’s blackmails his way to the head of the campaign. Marisa Tomei also contributes to the all-star cast as Ida Horowitz, a witty journalist who is always hitting up the media men for scoop. She reinforces the fact that there is no such thing as a friend in politics, only reciprocity.
The title of this film alludes to the presidential primary of Ohio that was to take place on the 15th of March. The word Ides comes from the latin work “Idus”, which means “half-way”. It is known in history as the day that Julius Caesar was killed in 44 B.C. This event was dramatized in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar when the soothsayer tells Caesar, “Beware the Ides of March” on the way to his death. With the allusion in the title of the film to the death of a king, one could assume that there will be a death of something, if not a character. In the film the king is not killed, but dreams die and so does an intern. We see a good and honest man who is running for president (at least in the eyes of Meyers) transition into a womanizing and dishonest politician.
The Ohio primary is considered extremely important to any primary candidate. However, it seems a little out of context for being a key state in the film considering that it is no longer imperative to gaining candidacy. As recently as 2008 this can be disproven. Time and again, the notion that “as Ohio goes, so goes the nation” has been ruled out as political mythology. Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy both lost the Ohio primary in their bid for democratic candidate and so did Barrack Obama. It is mentioned in the film that only three democrats have been elected to the presidency, but it seems that three of them also all lost Ohio. This is why the Ohio win really isn’t a big deal in the film. Unless they are using it as context for where the back room deals are made and delegates are traded like baseball cards for Cabinet appointments and spots on the ticket. Considering Hillary’s Ohio win, it may have just been her bargaining chip for her Secretary of State position (not that she didn’t deserve it). Maybe paranoia sets in for candidates in Ohio and they begin to panic, at least it does in Ides. Another factor in Ohio was mentioned in Ides. It is an open primary. Republican voters can get out and vote for the least likely candidate that they are confident their guy can defeat. Too bad America loves an underdog story. For the democrats, the saying needs to be updated to “As Ohio goes, NO goes the nation”.
In great thanks to Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti, perhaps two of the greatest character actors working in films today, the business of the campaign comes off as genuine. Even when the plot doesn’t. These are two smart guys who almost always play smart characters. In the film, they appear that they have been there and done that. They know what to say, what to do, and how to respond to any situation. Zara (Hoffman) even gives a nice monologue on loyalty while firing Meyers. Duffy (Giamatti) gives his own while rejecting Meyers and both write him off with professional ease. Myers is young at 30, but it is also stated in the movie that he is one of the greatest media minds in the world and politics is his life. One could assume that when the opponents guy (Duffy) calls to meet with you days before the primary it’s not to discuss last night’s game. He is up to something. The utter lack of intelligence by some of the characters is unnerving. I feel that while it was any political movie fan’s dream to see Giamatti and Hoffman go head to head as campaign managers while George Clooney is the candidate it fell flat from the storyline. They deserved better material.
The token pretty girl hussy of an intern is Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood). She is a 19 or 20 year old (the film waffles on that fact) and finds herself pregnant. It is difficult for me to believe that a seemingly smart girl who understands the magnitude of her situation would seduce a Meyers. Maybe it’s my own naiveté, but it did not seem likely. Most girls would have gotten off the campaign or at least refrained from sex with other guys. If she were to try and pass the baby off as Meyers, he could have quickly debunked that notion considering that the New York primary is traditionally a month earlier than the Ohio. Any Modern sonograph gives conception dates down to a mere days.
The camera angles, lights, and sound in the film all get it right. From the opening scene we see a close up of Meyers on the podium with confidence and hope in his eyes while Zara and Duffy grin at each other backstage. The opening music is identical to the military drums we heard in The Candidate. Clooney uses very effective and literal shots through window blinds, shadows, and actors clad in overcoats in scenes where back-room meetings occur. During a shaky plane ride, we are handed a clear metaphor for the direction of the campaign. Zara is made to look pathetic and frumpy set against the regal colonial and stately style of the meeting place with Senator Thompson (Jeffrey Wright) where he is made a fool of. Just before he is fired, Zara is getting a haircut in a barbershop. It goes without saying that Clooney uses Juxtaposition when needed.
There are several allusions to past political films in Ides. Much like the character in All the King’s Men, Duffy is the guy that facilitates the drama throughout the entire movie. He is a complex character in each film who did whatever it took to disable his opponent. If the secret meeting with Duffy and Meyers had never occurred in Ides, the subsequent events would have never taken place. Surely a tribute to Kings, it was prudent to name this character Duffy. One cannot ignore the striking resemblance that Giamatti bears to Peter Boyle as Marvin Lucas in The Candidate as well as the politics of Redford and Clooney in real life, as well as their characters. The theme of this film, Kings, and Candidate are the same. power is seductive and eventually corrupts even the good guys , is transitive. “You have to crack a few eggs to make an Omelette” as Jack Burden said. I think after his experience with the Morris campaign, Meyers would say the same. Unlike Meyers, Burden was not quite as naive .
If The Ides of March was made fifty or sixty years ago it may have been quite ground-breaking. Unfortunately, the politician and intern sex scandal has become a tired cliche. When the intern dies it adds an element of darkness, but not quite enough to rouse the tired sex scandal. The naiveté of the supposedly seasoned campaign guys is frustrating and comes across as ingenuous. There was an obnoxious element of pollyanna about the reactions of these self proclaimed thick skinned guys to a mere sex. One could only assume that the movie was set in an alternative universe where the likes of Bill Clinton, John Edwards, Anthony Wiener, Mark Sanford, etc. never existed. In almost every political movie I have seen whether it be the good guy or bad guy, a mistress or hints of a mistress is involved and is merely a byproduct of the overall corruption of the candidate (The Candidate, All the King’s Men). This film has been made, the story has been told, and the reality has been lived. I think we are all growing weary of the “good guy with pretty hair get caught with his pants down” story. At a time when social issues are on the back burner, why Clooney wouldn’t capitalize on the outrage of millions of Americans who are hurting from the financial crisis completely stumps me. Abortion? Religion? Adultery? We have bigger fish to fry these days. The funding of campaigns by the likes of the Koch brothers could be much more provocative and resonate in most Americans more than the intern sex plot. Also, trying to create a scandal from one media guy meeting with the other guys media guys is pretty far-reaching. Clearly, the wealthy guys who made this movie may be slightly out of touch with the movies that desperately need to be made today. With a powerful cast like this, a lot of information could be given to the public and insight a lot of critical thinking from the audience. Even with it’s sudden, black-screen ending, we are left with no room for speculation and instead a mere stereotype of politicians today. The only profound message we gain is from our own disillusionment of our values when it comes to politicians and their sexual indiscretions.
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