'Beware The Ides Of March'

Wise words from that soothsayer. Words that easily fit my opinion of the recent political film The Ides Of March. A deeply frustrating and disappointing experience.

From the off, on paper, this should work perfectly, and it's clear this wanted to set its stall out for Oscar season. A worthy, intelligent subject matter, a competently made, polished production with a fantastic cast including George Clooney, Ryan 'Drive' Gosling, Evan Rachel Wood, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti and Marisa Tomei...but it all falls so very short. Ultimately it takes the fascinating subject of politics and the machinations involved in running for office and produces a storyline that is simply too dry to do it justice. It also continues my own theory that I only really like Clooney in comedic roles.

My advice then is to beware The Ides of March and watch Robert Redford's The Candidate instead. It may be forty years old, but it is still the best film about US politics.