BEFORE: This started out as a week-long look at politics, and has really come to focus on the underhanded nature of political campaigns - smear tactics, wiretapping, secret files and backroom deals. Well, at least that keeps it interesting.
I was originally planning to watch this in late February (another possible outro to Romance Month was to end with "Intolerable Cruelty" and then segue via Clooney) but since I kept adding more films about relationships, that pushed this film into the "correct" month. Yes, I realize that the true Ides of March occur on March 15, but this was as close as I could get it.
I'm hesitant to add too many films to the list, which stands at just over 240 films right now. I've only got 234 viewing slots left for 2013, so I've now made it impossible to finish this year, and any additions just push the end further into 2014.
Linking from "J. Edgar" - turns out Leonardo DiCaprio is an executive producer of this film, but that doesn't really count. He was supposed to star at one point but had a conflict. DiCaprio was also in the Woody Allen film "Celebrity" with Jeffrey Wright, who plays a politician tonight.
THE PLOT: An idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail.
AFTER: Well, they say that the two things you don't want to see made are laws and sausages - I suppose we can add presidential campaigns to that list. This is also a crash course in job theory - you want to do your job well and succeed, of course. But if you're TOO successful at your job, then you become the top dog, and a target for others to take down. Keep your friends close, but keep your co-workers where you can keep an eye on them.
Everything seems all right at first with the campaign of Gov. Mike Morris - he's one of two Democratic candidates left, heading into the Ohio primary, which takes place in March, get it? The film's title also alludes to Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", so that gives a clue to the type of figurative backstabbing that one might expect to come in this narrative.
So it does get dark, and a bit twisty, but hey, that's politics. I don't want to give too much away on this one - but it really is a battle of wits between the candidates, and then between former comrades on the campaign. It's interesting to think how many political alliances are formed just based on the math of the electoral college. Also the type of experiences that can turn a young idealistic staffer into a jaded, cynical one.
Also starring George Clooney (last seen in "Intolerable Cruelty"), Ryan Gosling (last seen in "Blue Valentine"), Philip Seymour Hoffman (last seen in "Along Came Polly"), Marisa Tomei (last seen in "Crazy, Stupid, Love."), Evan Rachel Wood (last seen in "Running With Scissors"), Max Minghella, with cameos from Charlie Rose, Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow. We've kept the pundits busy this week.
RATING: 6 out of 10 endorsements
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