The Ides of March

George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s adaptation of the Beau Willimon play Farragut North is a wonderful showcase for terrific acting but not a very good story nor an especially penetrating look at the way political campaigning is done in America.  It is certainly not on the level of the 1964 Franklin J. Schaffner film of Gore Vidal’s play The Best Man.  There are some clever things in the film, but nothing is half as good as the film’s poster.  It has been ages since a film had a great one-sheet poster, and this one (Ryan Gosling holding a folded Time Magazine cover with half of Clooney’s face obscuring half of his own) is a brilliant visual statement about campaign managers and candidates.  If only the movie were as great as the ad campaign!