The Ides of March ***

A political thriller without an overt platform, 'The Ides of March" focuses on the young rising star press secretary of the leading Democratic candidate in the final days leading up to the make-or-break Ohio primary in mid-March. Press secretary Stephen Meyers, expertly played by Ryan Gosling, faces a kind of grown-up test and a loss of innocence, which rather oddly and a little too neatly, parallels the path of his high-principled candidate, Gov. Mike Morris, too smoothly played by George Clooney. The movie is calm and polished on the surface, like its candidate, but underneath there are undercurrents of brinkmanship, betrayal, raw ambition, and sex scandal. Decisions lead to catastrophic consequences, although I was left wondering just how some got to their end game.

A provocative, not great, movie, with a theme that for me echoed Robert Redford's "The Candidate" (1972), "The Ides of March" breaks no new ground. The play on which it was based, "Farragut North" (2008) was written by Beau Willimon, who worked on Gov. Howard Dean's 2004 campaign, and so may show that each generation learns the old lessons anew. I was surprised to discover that the play was so recent, because the political world depicted is such a man's world, it seems like a throwback to an earlier time.

I saw the movie with a group of like-minded political junkies and party activists, and we had a lively discussion afterwards. Situations, decisions, strategies and tactics in the movie reminded us all of similar situations, and I think we all felt the experience was worthwhile for the conversation it provoked. The supporting cast is chock full of talent well-used by director/star/producer George Clooney, and is a nice lead-in to what promises to be a full-throated political year.