The Ides of March

Playwrights everywhere should be thrilled with Hollywood's transformation of Farragut North into a blockbuster release now playing in neighborhood movie theaters across the country. Certainly Beau Willimon, who's got his name on the credits, in part as screenwriter and source, must be pinching himself for his good fortune. He's associated with a production that spared no expense in turning his "Inside the Beltway" morality play into a political thriller. An all-star cast headed by George Clooney (who also directs) and Philip Seymour Hoffman also attracted heartthrobs Ryan Gosling and Evan Rachel Wood as well as veterans Paul Giamatti and Marisa Tomei. With Mr. Clooney heading your project and Ellen Chenoweth as the casting director, good things are going to happen with your script. Even the original music and scoring of the movie by Alexandre Desplat makes this old tale sound new.

The story is about a Democratic primary candidate (Clooney), his strategist (Hoffman), and campaign manager (Gosling) and their bid to win in the battleground state of Ohio. There's some political jockeying going on that a pushy reporter (Tomei) is trying to nose out while an equally forward intern (Wood) is on a hunt of her own. Things turn with a meeting between Gosling's character and a manager from the other side (Giamatti). There are several twists and discoveries which do some major stress testing on all of the participants' lives.

I caught Farragut North when it was running at the Olney Theatre and found it mildly entertaining, with a few good performances in the minor roles. It's hard to muster much sympathy for the high-flying principal character who gets a kick from everyone on the way down in the play. The kinds of dirty tricks served up in the script are everyday reading in the nation's capital. [SPOILER ALERT!] And the plot point - that his meeting with a counterpart of his candidate's opponent is the beginning of his downfall - just doesn't register with me. Down here political operatives from different campaigns - not to mention parties - are fraternizing all the time, not to mention being married to each other. While the storyline remains more or less intact, the outstanding acting and direction - adding complexity to the characterization and the visual pacing - smoothed over flaws in the basic structure.

As can be expected, the movie version opens things up and adds characters. The Ides of March changes a few things from the play too, which given the demand of the medium, calls for a little more than the individual fall from grace of an essentially naïve character. (Most of the theatrical - not to mention book - adaptations I have seen fail because they are too faithful to the original version.) The stakes are raised at several points to heighten the dramatic tension. Ms. Wood's intern comes with some baggage and everyone seems destined to (or does) go down except the principal character (Steven Meyers played by Mr. Gosling) who holds the winning hand. True, he's corrupted, but then who isn't in this campaign of the long knives saga.

Mr. Gosling, who played the alcoholic and abusive husband to critical acclaim in Blue Valentine is riveting as the semi-idealistic political handler. The script, I believe, calls for expert casting in this role and with Mr. Gosling's performance got it. His boss, Mr. Hoffman along with his nemesis Mr. Giamatti, have put on a few pounds, but still have the acting chops to make even supporting characters compelling. Ms. Wood has the unenviable task of turning a sexually aggressive character who's a bit of a fluff into something of a victim and mostly succeeds.

Mr. Clooney bats clean-up in this championship line-up and delivers every time he steps into the box. Presidential, calculating, cunning, and charismatic, this guy looks born to play the role; he's three steps ahead of the competition, whether it's at the podium or in the bedroom. It's amazing that he could bring forth such a performance with the demands on the other side of the camera. Whatever he couldn't get in direction - he shared screenwriting credits - he ferreted out in the post-production and editing process.

This satisfying film is a rarity in making a successful transition from the stage to the screen. Direction, casting, acting, and sound are all excellent. Only the title rings a false note and fails to deliver. For those who would recognize the allusion, there's no communal slaying, only a dead man walking to what looks like either a spinoff or a sequel. From an entertainment standpoint, though, this is a quality product. Highly recommended for those who savor the fine art of filmmaking. Runtime: 1:41