The Ides of March

George Clooney and Grant Heslov's adaptation of Beau Willimon's 2008 play Farragut North is a solid showcase for terrific acting, but not a very good story nor an especially penetrating look at how political campaigning is done in America. The Ides of March is certainly not on the level of something like Franklin J. Schaffner's 1964 film of Gore Vidal's play The Best Man. There are some clever things in the picture, but nothing is half as good as the thematically apt poster. It has been ages since a movie 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!