The Plot:
The Presidential election season is in full swing. Gov. Mike Morris (George Clooney) is fighting for his party’s nomination. Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling) is Morris’ hot-shot staffer whose energy and intellect has made him a feared adversary in the opposition’s camp.
As the campaign trail lengthens and stresses multiply, Myers’ mettle is tested as lessons are learned in the unforgiving, devious world of politics.

Kent’s Take:
“The Ides of March” is a coming-of-age story set in a cunning political environment.
Stephen Myers’ idealistic views of his candidate, Gov. Mike Morris, are both quaint and naive at the outset. This naïveté blinds, him to the reality that all is fair in love and politics. Yet, Myers always seems to be a few steps ahead and is so driven that it is easy to make the leap in thinking that he can handle himself.

Carol’s Take:
Someone once said Americans are naïve – that we expect our politicians to climb to the top of the greasy pole and have clean hands when they get there. “The Ides of March” is a reflection on dirty hands and the folly of idealism.
The picture is tightly shot. No screen time is squandered as the story moves to its inevitable conclusion.
The characters are asked to deliver some unimaginative lines – there is no Sorkinesque sparkle here. As a statement about how mundane people circling the corridors of power may be, it is chilling.

To read Kent and Carol’s full reviews, visit: http://www.websterkirkwoodtimes.com/SiteElist-1924.113117-Reelworld.html