GRADE: B+

There is no other possible way to start this review than to talk about how awesome Ryan Gosling is. I honestly don’t know who has a bigger crush on him, me, or my wife. Of course she thinks he’s a dreamboat — I think he’s one of the coolest on screen presences I have ever seen in cinema. Gosling is on a roll this year having already starred in Crazy, Stupid, Love and Drive — now he is the focal point of The Ides of March, and he once again nails his performance as a campaign manager for a presidential candidate. Gosling’s character in this film isn’t as subtle as his persona in Drive, but he is every bit as smooth and calculated. I’ve spent this whole opening paragraph gushing for Gosling — I should copyright that — but I can honestly say the film would have been significantly less interesting without him.

The Ides of March has Gosling’s character Stephen and Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s character Paul acting as campaign managers for George Clooney, who plays the Governor Mike Morris. The team is working tirelessly to earn the Democratic nomination, fighting to win the key state of Ohio which could help pave the way to the presidency. Stephen is the young quick-witted staffer that so many in his field admire. He works his ass off to help Morris on the campaign trail because he truly believes in what Morris is promising to do as President, and Morris’ ideals as a candidate. Soon Stephen begins to learn that politics is not all promises, campaigning, and votes — the political world is filled with backdoor deals, corruption, and crafty people looking for a leg up.

The film is a political commentary on the current state of politics and how little actually getting votes means — it’s all about who you know and finding those to manipulate in your favor. Fellow politicians see a rising star like the fictional Morris and they want to ride his coattails to the White House and assume power under his leadership. Once an angle is worked, other dominoes will fall — then political backers lead to financial contributions which leads to media coverage which ends up turning into votes. This type of film shows just how foolish our election system is today — not to get all preachy, but the two party system in this country is straight bullshit. Hard not to veer into this topic considering what’s covered in The Ides of March, but there are my two cents.

Ok, back to the film. The Ides of March was well paced, had sharp and cunning dialogue, and had more than just one compelling character. The actors expertly delivered on a script that needed strong performances — otherwise this film could have been flat. The film didn’t dive too deep into the actual issues in politics today, or the characters in the story, but it spends enough time with each to make The Ides of March feel complete.

George Clooney once again proves he not only can help carry a film as a supporting character, but that he can also work magic behind the camera. His shots met the mood of each scene, and there were more than a handful of memorable visuals — a heated discussion between Gosling and Hoffman behind a gigantic back-lit America flag is a particular standout.

While I will say that Drive was a better movie than The Ides of March, I think Gosling delivered a better performance in the latter. He was spot on in every scene working from a “boy” all-in for this campaign to a man jaded by the proceedings in front of his very eyes. Hard to argue against Gosling’s work in Drive, but I felt Stephen was more compelling and his portrayal was perfect compared to great — know I’ll catch flak for that statement, but I’ll back it up.

Overall, The Ides of March is worth a view for anyone who follows politics, anyone who loves a crafty drama, and anyone who even remotely enjoys watching Ryan Gosling do work. It isn’t too polarizing to turn off either side of the political spectrum, but says plenty about the lack of honest politicians and an actual fair and democratic election process.

What Should You Do? There are better movies in the theaters right now — Drive, 50/50, The Lion King 3D — but if this film caught your eye, give it a shot.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @matthewdeery