Theme and director’s intention
"The Ides of March is a morality tale that transcends its political trappings enough to resemble a classic tragedy (thus, the titular evocation of Julius Caesar), and just about every other scene in the film is a simple pleasure unto itself between the equally confident writing, direction, and performances." - Goss
""The Ides of March" is more about the nature of modern media politics, and younger players who are strangers to idealism." - Ebert
Separate elements and their relationship to the whole
"The palette of Phedon Papamicheale's cinematography grows colder as the circumstances do, while medium shots keep the conversations jumping, close-ups keep the confrontations jolting, and the wider scenes reinforce the scope of the impact that this one primary ..."-Goss
"The movie's strength is in the acting" - Ebert
Objective evaluation of the film
"The second half shifts gears a bit. Now, Clooney turns to liberal, and overall, disenchantment with Obama, or on a grander scale, disappointment with how all politicians tend to break the hearts of those who love them most, though he encompasses this within other political themes and current events. In The Ides of March, it’s a sex scandal (something that we’ve seen plenty of recently) that threatens Meyers’ idealism and the campaign’s future, but it could just as easily have been the failure to come through on campaign promises." - Leibowitz
"Myers, an admitted idealist, is seduced by Morris, by everything he promises and everything he represents as a candidate, and he’s willing to tell New York Times reporter Ida Horowicz (Marisa Tomei) as much. Myers then finds himself momentarily seduced by rival campaign manager Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) to simply meet and discuss the prospect of the young gun switching teams — an offer that he’s less than willing to inform his boss, Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), about. Finally, Myers is splendidly seduced by intern Molly (Evan Rachel Wood), and it’s these little actions and best intentions that will come to swiftly and significantly compromise Stephen’s idyllic worldview." - Goss
"The screenplay, written by Clooney, Grant Heslov and Willimon, is ingenious in the way it meshes personal and political ambitions, especially when Duffy, the manager of the rival campaign, reaches out and tries to recruit Stephen over to his side. His motives are suspicious: Does he really want the guy, or does he know that a job offer is a useful ploy? Certainly Stephen is on the make and looking for openings to his advantage." - Ebert
Subjective evaluation of the film
"I found it teetering on usless." - Leibowitz
"They play well off of one another, all too happy to contribute their own turns of the screw, but each is even better when pitted opposite Gosling and his terrific lead performance." - Goss
The film’s level of ambition
"They play well off of one another, all too happy to contribute their own turns of the screw, but each is even better when pitted opposite Gosling and his terrific lead performance." - Goss
"The impression remains, however, that he believes this movie to be more of an expose than it is." - Ebert
Words you found interesting
"Laser-sharp" "frumpy" - Leibowitz
"vivacity" "polemic" "foibles"-Goss
"pressure-cooker" - Ebert
Relationship to film movements/genres/ relation to other filmmakers’ work
"Clooney's straightforward work here harkens bask to a '70s-specific directness, from the plainly presented opening titles on down." - Goss
"Clooney as director seems attracted to stories about smart men under pressure" - Ebert
"In roles as different as this one and "Drive," he has a focus that sees through others and focuses on his character's goals." - Ebert
Goss, William. "Review: George Clooney's The Ides of March Makes Politics Personal" Rev. of The Ides of March, dir. George Clooney Refn. www.film.com 7 Oct. 2011
Ebert, Robert. "The Ides of March" Rev. of The Ides of March, dir. George Clooney Refn. rogererbert.com 5 Oct. 2011
Leibowitz, Gabe. "The Ides of March (George Clooney, 2011)" Rev. of The Ides of March, dir. George Clooney Refn. www.filmandfelt.com 20 Jan 2012
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