Basic Film Information

• Release Date: October 7, 2011
• Director: George Clooney
• Writers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
• Actors: George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Evan Rachel Wood

Synopsis

When a junior campaign manager is faced with issues of corruption while working with a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, he must work to save both the campaign’s reputation and his own.

Contemporary Reviews

• A.O. Scott, film critic for The New York Times, analyzes and critiques the lackluster plot of The Ides of March, as well as praises its interesting outook within his review of the film.

• Rotten Tomatoes awarded The Ides of March with an 84% rating and an audience score of 72%.

• Philip French, film critic for The Guardian, analyzes George Clooney’s work and criticizes the display of campaign corruption within the film.

Background and Interesting Facts 

• Leonardo DiCaprio was originally cast as Stephen Meyers, but dropped out of the role before filming, choosing to remain as anexecutive producer instead.
• As stated in the DVD audio commentary, the bar where Stephen meets Tom Duffy is called Head First and is located directly across from the Cincinnati Reds baseball stadium. It’s named for Pete Rose, who would slide head first. Paul Giamatti, who plays Tom Duffy, is the son of the late Bart Giamatti, who as Commissioner of baseball imposed the lifetime ban on Pete Rose.
• The screenplay for The Ides of March was featured in the 2007 Blacklist; a list of the “most liked” unmade scripts of the year.

Analysis

The Ides of March is a George Clooney- directed film about the inner-workings of a campaign for the Democratic nomination for president. Viewers follow Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling), the junior campaign manager for Mike Morris (George Clooney), the Governor of Pennsylvania, as he builds a campaign against the opponent, Arkansas Senator Ted Pullman (Michael Mantell). Faced with challenges along the normal campaign route, Meyers is able to easily overcome them, but, when personal issues and corruption come into play, the somewhat seasoned young politico must struggle to control the damage. A.O. Scott of The New York Times, describes the film as “a professional politico’s loss of innocence” as Steven Meyers is exposed to the truth behind Morris’ campaign (Scott). Within The Ides of March, viewers are shown examples of corruption and how it infiltrates honest campaigns.

Governor Morris’ campaign began with a hopeful, wishful intent, complete with newfound promises to the American people. He runs from an atheist standpoint and claims a religion based upon the Constitution of the United States of America, appealing to the Democratic electorate. He speaks to the crowd in easy, relaxed tones with a down-to-earth appeal that makes him somewhat relatable to the viewers. Off-stage, Morris refuses to participate in dirty dealings because he would rather run a clean campaign. When offered the option to make a well-known senator of Ohio, Franklin Thompson (Jeffrey Wright), Secretary of State upon election or lose the support of 356 Thompson-controlled delegates and, inevitably, the Ohio primary, Morris refuses to allow a deal to be made because of his principles. Morris’ initial actions make viewers, and Meyers, believe that he will run a thoroughly honest campaign.

Steven Meyers originally bought into the clean campaign strategy and found hope in Morris and the campaign as a whole. In The Ides of March, Meyers states that Morris “is the only one that’s actually going to make a difference in people’s lives” (The Ides of March, 2011). Despite Ida Horowicz’s (Marisa Tomei) warning within the film that Morris would “let you [Meyers] down sooner or later,” he continued trusting in Morris (The Ides of March, 2011). After working on very many campaigns, Stephen Meyers believed that the Morris campaign would be the one that truly mattered and he had faith that the candidate would remain true to his principles. Unfortunately, his trust in Morris blinded him to the flaws of the candidate, especially when he discovers the governor’s relationship with Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood). Rather than spreading word of the incident, he planned to cover it all up, believing that Morris did not deserve to deal with the repercussions of his actions. Meyers was also naïve enough to blindly devote himself to the campaign, so that when he met with Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), the opponent’s campaign manager, he believed that his intentions were pure and no one would doubt his loyalty.

Unfortunately for Stephen Meyers, who initially was hopeful and innocent, corruption infiltrated his career. His naïve tendencies and unfaltering trust led him into a period of scandals and ruthlessness that he had never envisioned. Despite Meyers’ attempts to suppress Morris’ scandal, he could not protect himself. While Meyers truly attended the meeting with Duffy out of curiosity, the senior campaign manager, Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman) believed that he did it out of corruption. Because he had met with and possibly contributed to the opponent’s campaign, Zara could not trust Meyers anymore. Thus, Zara, along with Morris, fired Meyers for his lack of loyalty. This seemingly minor act caused the once-innocent Meyers to completely switch sides, displaying a true act of disloyalty.

In response to the failure he had met from being so innocent, Meyers attempted to present Duffy with information regarding Morris’ true corruption in return for a job, but was denied. Continuing his corrupt acts, Stephen forced Morris to meet with him as an act of quiet desperation. There, he told Morris what he knew about Stearn’s involvement with Morris and how that led to her suicide. Using the false concept of a letter from Stearn as leverage, Meyers was able to replace Zara as senior campaign manager and rise in power. Within The Ides of March, Stephen Meyers also gave Morris an ultimatum that reflected his prior innocence and trust: “You make right with so many people you made wrong and all the things that we both believe in” (The Ides of March, 2011). By the end of the film, Meyers had caused Morris a sure win for the Democratic nomination, all by succumbing to corruption. The film closes with a statement from Morris explaining that the basis of his entire campaign was integrity, creating ironic suspension for the viewers who had followed his corruption.

The Ides of March is a political film that works to display how corruption can infilitrate honest campaigns and people with pure intentions. Viewers are shown how Stephen Meyers, a young campaign manager, is drawn into the allure of power and dishonesty due to vulnerability and the threat to his personal reputation. What began as naïve trust, devotion, and loyalty to a campaign, resulted in the loss of a job, innocence, and a life. Within the film, viewers are shown an empathetic view of Meyers, thus allowing the understanding of how corruption actually takes place. The Ides of March works to explain that even those with the purest of intentions may turn with the tides of politics.

Bibliography

Cross Creek Pictures. The Ides of March Poster. Advertisement. Cross Creek Pictures. 2011. Web.

French, Philip. The Ides of March – Review. 29 October 2011. Web Article. 21 November 2016.

IMDb. The Ides of March (2011) . 2016. Web Article. 21 November 2016.

Rotten Tomatoes – Fandango. The Ides of March (2011). 2016. Web Article. 21 November 2016.

Scott, A. O. Estranged Bedfellows. 6 October 2011. Web Article. 21 November 2016.