I am a huge fan of movies direted by George Clooney. Many of you may have read my review of “Good Night and Good Luck” which was a runaway success both commercially and at the Oscars. Of course, with GNGL he had a stellar performance from David Strathairn to prop up the movie but then Clooney has always been one to pick up his cast with utmost precision. And The Ides of March is no exception. Other than himself (surprisingly in a dark role), he picks the vastly under rated Ryan Gosling, the always bankable Paul Giamatti and the truly versatile Philip Seymour Hoffman as the lead male cast. Not much of a role for the women in TIOM with the exception of the bit part given to Marisa Tomei which I thought was a waste of one of the most talented and capable actresses of our time. One could argue that the role was pivotal but the screen time was too little – 3 scenes if I remember it correctly.
But despite the strong cast and some stunning performances, I still believe that The Ides of March was a below par delivery from an otherwise very capable director. One expects George Clooney movies to be a bit slow and intense which TIOM is. So don’t get me wrong here. I believe all aspects of movie making were covered exceptionally well in our man’s 4th attempt at direction. All aspects but for the story – honestly that left me stumped completely. The build up in the first few minutes of the campaign of Governor Mike Morris (Clooney) in the primaries was superb and leaves you gasping for more. And just as you believe that the dominoes are all falling in place for a strong finish in the 2nd half, Clooney decides that the movie is just going to peter off into a damp squib. Somewhat like a question – “What? You expected some kind of a twist or something? Sorry mate. That’s not going to happen”. Maybe there was some larger than life reason or greater good at stake in this political drama or something that I am not familiar with but really TIOM didn’t cut much ice with me.
What you could watch the movie for would be the fantastic performances that I spoke about from each member of the cast, some superb cinematography and excellent editing. Clooney pretty much gets everything else bang on. Can easily be used as a bench mark for the technical aspects of movie making. I had a sense of déjà vu. The same incomplete feeling that I got from Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion earlier this year. So I guess Clooney has just added credence to the hypothesis that the most important part of a movie is the story and not the star cast. I give The Ides of March 5 on 10. I know most people are raving about the movie but I don’t think most of India is going to resonate with it. Hope to see a stunning come back from George Clooney.
Watch the Trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1103731737/
But despite the strong cast and some stunning performances, I still believe that The Ides of March was a below par delivery from an otherwise very capable director. One expects George Clooney movies to be a bit slow and intense which TIOM is. So don’t get me wrong here. I believe all aspects of movie making were covered exceptionally well in our man’s 4th attempt at direction. All aspects but for the story – honestly that left me stumped completely. The build up in the first few minutes of the campaign of Governor Mike Morris (Clooney) in the primaries was superb and leaves you gasping for more. And just as you believe that the dominoes are all falling in place for a strong finish in the 2nd half, Clooney decides that the movie is just going to peter off into a damp squib. Somewhat like a question – “What? You expected some kind of a twist or something? Sorry mate. That’s not going to happen”. Maybe there was some larger than life reason or greater good at stake in this political drama or something that I am not familiar with but really TIOM didn’t cut much ice with me.
What you could watch the movie for would be the fantastic performances that I spoke about from each member of the cast, some superb cinematography and excellent editing. Clooney pretty much gets everything else bang on. Can easily be used as a bench mark for the technical aspects of movie making. I had a sense of déjà vu. The same incomplete feeling that I got from Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion earlier this year. So I guess Clooney has just added credence to the hypothesis that the most important part of a movie is the story and not the star cast. I give The Ides of March 5 on 10. I know most people are raving about the movie but I don’t think most of India is going to resonate with it. Hope to see a stunning come back from George Clooney.
Watch the Trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1103731737/
Leatherheads..did u see that one? Catching it right now and so far so good. Shilpa
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