The Ides of March (2011)

Overview

The Ides of March is a 2011 political drama directed by and starring George Clooney in his first directorial venture since Leatherheads. The film's screenplay was also written by Clooney along with Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon.

Creation

The film is based on Beau Willimon's play Farragut North from 2008 which itself was loosely based on the 2004 Democratic Primary campaign of Howard Dean. The play itself like the movie opened to highly positive reviews. The play was set to go to Broadway in 2008 in the lead up to the 2008 US Presidential Election though it instead opened at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York City.

Plot Summary

Stephen Meyers is the Junior Campaign Manager for the Governor of Pennsylvania and Democratic President Candidate- Mike Morris who is running against Ted Pullman, Senator of Arkansas. Meyers along with his Morris' Senior Campaign Manager Paul Zara are attempting to convince Ohio to support Morris, therefore practically securing his spot as the Democratic Candidate for President. After Morris's debate with Pullman, Meyers is approached by Pullman's Senior Campaign Manager Tom Duffy. Meyers calls Zara to tell her about Duffy but she doesn't pick up. He leaves a message simply stating he something important to tell her but doesn't state what. Duffy then meets with Meyers and offers him a job over at Pullman's campaign but Meyers refuses, stating he believes in what Morris believes in. Duffy warns Meyers though that his optimism won't last long because he'll become corrupt and cynical like politicians. Zara calls Meyers back and asks him about what was so important but Meyers decides not to reveal that he met with Duffy.

He then begins a relationship with Molly Steam who is an intern for Morris' Campaign, and daughter of the Democratic National Committee. Meyers later discovers that Morris has been trying to contact Steam lately as the two had a thing while Morris was at a campaign stop in Iowa several weeks earlier, and that she is pregnant with his child. Instead of confronting Morris about her, Meyers in an act of kindness raises the money for an abortion and drives her to the clinic to have the procedure done. Afterwards he finally reveals to Zara that he met with Duffy and that Duffy told him Pullman was going to bribe Senator Thompson, whose nomination would nearly guarantee that he would become the Nominee for President.

A friend of Meyers, Ida who is a reporter for the New York Times reveals that an anonymous source leaked Meyer's meeting with Duffy and threatens to reveal it all unless Zara gives her every piece of information regarding his meeting with Senator Thompson. When Meyers comes to Zara for help, Zara reveals to him that he was the anonymous source who leaked the meeting to Ida and then fires him for showing "a lack of loyalty" for Morris campaign by meeting with Duffy. With no job, Meyers asks Duffy if he can work for him but Duffy no longer has any interest in hiring Meyers. Duffy then admits that he met with Meyers so that he would in turn reveal that information to Zara and that he predicted that Zara would then fire Meyers, weakening Morris' campaign severely and enabling Pullman to secure the nomination.

Molly then learns that Meyers was fired, and afraid that he will use her secret to get revenge on Morris, commits suicide. Meyers feels guilty about it even though he did indeed plan on revealing Morris' affair so that in exchange he would be given a job with Duffy on Senator Pullman's campaign. Meyers then goes to Morris and threatens to reveal the affair if he doesn't fire Zara. Morris does and then hires Meyers to replace Zara as Senior Campaign Manager and offers Senator Thompson the position of Secretary of State on his cabinet in exchange for his support. As Senior Campaign Manager, Meyers attends a press conference organized by Ida. He then realizes he became just what Duffy warned him about.The film then abruptly ends as Meyers takes his seat.

Production

The reputable Variety Magazine reported in October 2010 that George Clooney was planning to adapt, star in and direct a film adaptation of Beau Willimon's play Farragut North. Four studios- Exclusive Media Group, Cross Creek Pictures, Smoke House Pictures, and Leonardo Dicaprio's Appian Way Productions all financed the film. The official budget for the film was then set at $12.5 Million. The film commenced Principal Photography in Cincinnati, Ohio in February 2011 at numerous locations including Downtown at Fountain Square, Mount Lookout, Xavier University, and numerous other locations and neighborhoods. Filming then moved to Michigan with scenes shot in Detroit and at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Scenes shot at University of Michigan required a total of 1,000 extras to be hired.

Reception

The film's reviews in general remained quite positive as out of 159 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, The Ides of March measured that 83% of critics enjoyed the film with the consensus reading "While not exactly exposing revelatory truths, The Ides of March is supremely well-acted drama that moves at a calm, confident clip.". Though Screened.com's own Matthew Rorie gave it only three stars in his review.