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Rating: What has politics become? A rhetorical question, often echoed in public opinion, especially in recent decades, those of widespread scandals, state/crime collusion, economic, political, and diplomatic crises. The decades of power as visibility, as a "scepter" to dominate a populace increasingly impoverished by choices sometimes unpopular and inevitable, other times deliberately aimed at hitting the "masses." A difficult and contradictory world, that of politics: a world that the glamorous and controversial George Clooney has decided to describe, at least in its simplest and most superficial forms, in his fourth feature film, "The Ides of March," which arrived in Italian theaters in December 2011.
Based on a play by Beau Willimon, Clooney's film narrates the path of Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney) towards the Democratic Party primaries against rival Pullman. Morris’s electoral campaign is orchestrated by the young Stephen (Ryan Gosling) and Paul (Philip Seymour Hoffman), while Pullman's campaign is "designed" by Tom (Paul Giamatti). Names that make up a first-class cast and inevitably contribute to making "The Ides of March" a ensemble film, with the most important figure being the one played by Ryan Gosling, once again excellent after having proven his abilities in the much-lauded "Drive" by Danish director Refn. Noteworthy is the good performance by the beautiful Evan Rachel Wood and the presence of Marisa Tomei as a Times journalist, the unforgettable Pam from "The Wrestler."
Clooney's film, aside from the famous prejudices against him, and his actions as a gossip man, is a cinematic work that knows its stuff, but has some faults. While the setup is that of an atypical and "slow" thriller, the global atmosphere sometimes seems too superficial, lowering the film's overall tone. This is the case with the sequences featuring Clooney himself, stiffened in the face of a typical charming politician, which adds little or nothing to the film's progression. Agreed, Clooney has carved out a secondary role for himself, but his character appears the least convincing. A similar discourse applies to Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti, who, despite their excellent performances, are seen too little on screen: they deserved more consideration. Formal flaws that are compensated by Clooney's skill in not turning the story into a sermon on the filth of politics et similia. The Kentucky director lets his political ideas shine through, but they never become the film's focus and remain in the background. What matters to Clooney is showing us how it is not the "institutionalized" political world that is corrupt, but already the environments at its base: it is from the young people who get active to support a candidate that the process of losing dignity begins, leading those living in this field to backstab each other, even among people with the same political vision, even among friends. Backstabbing, a recurring practice already known throughout history...
Three and a half stars.
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