Cert.15
In cinemas now

Joshua Chambers

Such was the demand to see this film – an absorbing drama set around a US presidential primary campaign – it was tricky to find a seat anywhere in London. I eventually bagged a place in Stratford’s vast new shopping mall/moonbase, which provides a depressingly dystopian view of the future. Martin Luther King once spoke of an island of poverty within a vast ocean of material prosperity; this alien landscape was evidently the opposite.

But I was there with a job to do: film reviewing. Striding purposefully past winding queues for ice-cream scoops and the disgustingly smelly nachos stand, I found my seat and, soon enough, was gripped by what was unfolding on the screen in front of me.

The Ides of March is based on an award-winning play, and consequently has excellent dialogue and a gripping plot. All this film needed was a deft hand directing and some good actors to keep it going: it came closer to achieving the latter than the former.

While the film kept me hooked, I couldn’t help find myself a little irritated by the cinematography. When you have a strong storyline, there’s no need to rely on gimmicks of cinematography. I don’t want the camera to zoom in over someone’s ear, nor to focus on the furrows of their forehead. It’s distracting, and was evidently designed to bag some Oscars.

The acting was excellent, though. I’ll just name a couple of cast members and say they were on their usual form: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ryan Gosling, George Clooney.

The Ides of March is not really a film about politics. It’s a compelling drama that happens to be set around a presidential campaign. Would I watch it again? No, it was rather dark and depressing. Once was enough – but I wholeheartedly recommend it.

review, film

Last updated 203 days ago by Civil Service World