Once again George Clooney steps behind the camera tackling the subject of morality and the biting reality of the politics of politics. But I was left asking the question: is this the type of material that needs to be rehashed again? Was there something that has been missed in all of the films going back to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, or even further? or, did George Clooney think he could simply do it better? Whatever the reasoning I was unimpressed, and this film with its lack of revelatory material gave me nothing but a package of Oscar-worthy performances. Nothing more.
I am really not sure how Ryan Gosling does it, but he has been in pretty much every film that has come out in 2011. Again, he has proven himself to be a force to be reckoned with, doing a very good job as Stephen Meyers, an idealistic, super smart campaign manager for Governor Mike Morris. Stephen believes in Morris's ideas, Stephen believes in Morris. But it is down to Ohio in the primaries for the last two democratic nominees. Whoever wins Ohio will get an unbeatable lead, and so the fangs come out. This film is about what Stephen, and the senior campaign manager (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Paul, will do to beat Tom Duffy's (Paul Giamatti) candidate.
Of course Stephen, not unlike Jefferson Smith, is naive and twinkle-eyed about what really needs to happen in order for a candidate to win. He has his morals and his dignity, but everything he believes in will be compromised when he learns the hard truth of political campaigning. He will also feel the wrath of the press, especially at the hands of New York Times writer Ida Horowicz (Marisa Tomei), when scoops aren't given and people have compromising information about him. Like I said, nothing new.
Beyond the more obvious politicking that goes on, Stephen also develops a love interest with a very young intern, played by the ever boring Evan Rachel Wood. I really can't stand that girl, and this film followed their very obvious plotline for far too long. It becomes a little melodramatic and hackneyed at the end, and I found myself loosing patience with it.
There were some moments which gave hope that the film could have been something more. These typically revolved around the interactions between Stephen and Paul, and Stephen and the Governor. However these were all too brief. I did like the similarities between Morris and President Obama--Morris's campaign poster actually had me looking to see if it had "Yes We Can" written on the bottom of it. Clooney wears his second hat as the Governor, and I thought he was the best part of the film. When all of the cards are shown at the end it turns out that he is the most complex and enigmatic character in the movie. I hope that he receives a Best Supporting Actor nod come January.
Again, this film is really just a vehicle for half a dozen great performances by one of the best casts assembled this year. Seymour Hoffman and Giamatti are equally great as the old, broken down cynics who have lost their love of life and whose sole purpose is to create presidents. Tomei surprises me again as the calculating and manipulative newspaper columnist; I would not immediately have associated her with that type of role. And, of course, Gosling does what he does. Having his world crumble around him is at times painful to watch, and I have no doubt that either this or Drive will earn him a Best Actor nomination (though I absolutely prefer the latter).
All in all this was a very boring film. It was too much about the politics, and if they were going to go with the themes that they did then the stakes should have been raised. This was supposed to be something of a thriller, but I was half asleep. Where they did try to create twists the film ended up simply being annoying. Try to see it for Clooney and Gosling, but don't worry if you miss it.
2/4
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