The Ides of March (2011)

An idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail.

Director:

George Clooney

Writers:

George Clooney (screenplay), Grant Heslov (screenplay),

Stars:

Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan Gosling	...	Stephen Meyers
George Clooney	...	Governor Mike Morris
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Paul Zara
Paul Giamatti	...	Tom Duffy
Evan Rachel Wood	...	Molly Stearns
Marisa Tomei	...	Ida Horowicz
Jeffrey Wright	...	Senator Thompson
Max Minghella	...	Ben Harpen
Jennifer Ehle	...	Cindy Morris
Gregory Itzin	...	Jack Stearns
Michael Mantell	...	Senator Pullman
Yuri Sardarov	...	Mike (as Yuriy Sardarov)
Bella Ivory	...	Jenny
Maya Sayre	...	Sue
Danny Mooney	...	Campaign Editor

Storyline

Stephen Meyers is a young idealist who's brilliant at communications, is second in command of Governor Mike Morris's presidential campaign, and is a true believer. In the middle of the Ohio primary, the campaign manager of Morris's opponent asks Meyers to meet; he offers him a job. At the same time, Morris's negotiations for the endorsement of the man in third place, a North Carolina Senator, hit a snag. A young campaign intern, Molly Stearns, gets Stephen's romantic attention. Republicans have a trick up their sleeve; Stephen may be too trusting, and Molly has a secret. What's most important, career, victory, or virtue?

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Plot Keywords:

presidential campaign | endorsement | funeral | campaign speech | presidential debate | 

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Taglines:

Is This Man Our Next President?

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Farragut North

Filming Locations:

Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$10,470,143 (USA) (7 October 2011)

Gross:

$40,962,534 (USA) (6 January 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cross Creek Pictures, Exclusive Media Group, Smokehouse Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Opening film at the 2011 Venice Film Festival.

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Goofs

George Clooney and his wife are having a conversation in the campaign bus, at night somewhere near Cincinnati. But an exterior shot shows the bus pass a "Lansing" sign with the Michigan state route (diamond) symbol.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Stephen Meyers: I'm not a Christian. I'm not an Atheist. I'm not Jewish. I'm not Muslim. My religion, what I believe in is called the Constitution of United States of America.

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Connections

Referenced in Chelsea Lately: Episode #6.44 (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Let's Get Away From It All"
Written by Tom Adair and Matt Dennis

User Reviews

politics with shocks and twists

Ryan Gosling's at his best in dramatic roles and there's no exception here. As things unravel - that happens quickly thanks to the intense plot - Gosling decides that his ambitions are so important that he'll be willing willing to lose his soul. George Clooney has a very strong appeal, he's very convincing, his acting being almost perfect. "Ides of March" has very few flaws, the twists in the plot are not predictable and overall doesn't have any problems connecting with the viewers. Eventually, although there's no character to empathize with the audience has the impression of a notable film noir, challenging us to come to terms with what politics is nowadays. I've seen intelligent filmmaking and a provocative moral fable.