Blogfromthebarn

Movie Review -The Ides of March

Movie Review -The Ides of March

Let's face it, sometimes you need a break, you've had your fill of mindless violence, glamorous locations, gratuitous sexual content and exquisite computer generated graphics. You'd like something that involves you, that makes you think, an intelligent movie.

So, just me then?

Never mind, at my suggestion the lovely Mrs Stuffy booked seats for us to enjoy 'The Ides of March', George Clooney's directorial debut, and I was looking forward to an involving exploration of the personalities, politics and intrigue surrounding the fictional race for the democratic candidate nominations in the US presidential contest.

I'm a fan, as my regular reader will recall, of american politics as portrayed in the sublime West Wing and based on the reviews and publicity I'd seen, I was hoping for more of the same. I wasn't disappointed, this is a well-crafted tale adapted from a stage play, a low-key piece of nicely structured exposition, essentially a series of dialogues gradually expounding the story and with each conversation, changing ones view of the characters.

It's not a film full of fireworks, it's a slow-burn narrative of ambition, pride, intrigue, deceit, disappointment and dismay. Nobody comes out of this story well with the exception of the cast, writers and director. Clooney has chosen a very manageable story for his first attempt at directing but truthfully, everybody on screen deserves praise although Phillip Seymour-Hoffman and Paul Giametti earn  particular note for pitch-perfect portrayal of competing, bright,perceptive, ambitious but very human political animals.

It's a simple tale, told extremely well and I commend it to anyone who is happy to watch a film that rewards a little attention and a little thinking.

In other news Mrs Stuffy dozed off 20 minutes in and resurfaced as the credits rolled.


A hustings-related haiku

Intrigued and enthused
Whilst her ladyship snoozed
politicos used

Labels: blogfromthebarn, george clooney, ides of march, movie review, Mrs Stuffy, Oakwood, paul giametti, phillip seymour-hoffman, Stuffy, west wing

posted by Stuffy @ 7:46 pm