3.5 stars out of 5
The thing about politics: It’s too political. And this movie—though very well-made, smartly written, and sharply performed—unfortunately doesn’t have much more to say than that.
Clooney has already proved himself more than competent behind the camera. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Good Night and Good Luck, and Leatherheads: All good, enjoyable, and diverse movies. This time director Clooney tackles political intrigue and is once again quite adept with the subject matter.
Of course, we’re well aware of Clooney’s own political leanings, so the content here is a bit of a surprise. It feels like the work of a disillusioned liberal, which certainly captures the zeitgeist of the times.
It’s also an interesting “inside look” at the machinations of political campaigns. A movie hasn’t spent this much time inside a campaign office since Taxi Driver.
The cast is top-notch and each captures their character very well. Ryan Gosling is very believable as a slick but idealistic campaign strategist whose world becomes unraveled. Clooney is the perfect choice for a seemingly earnest presidential candidate, a send-up/mash-up of Clinton and Obama. Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti prove they’re not the same guy, though their rival campaign-head characters are mirror images of each other, one a little more willing to indulge in trickery. Evan Rachel Wood is great as the mature, seductive, but in-over-her-head intern. (Though it seemed odd to me that the daughter of the DNC head—portrayed by 24‘s President Logan—would play favorites by working on a candidate’s staff during the primaries. Eh, I don’t know how these things work.)
And yet, maybe as you read that list of characters, you thought, hmm, this all seems a little familiar. Smooth candidate, idealistic staffer, dirty tricks, sexy intern. We know that politicians are creeps. We know that politics is hopelessly crooked. We know that idealistic folks get jaded and become what they despised. Clooney tells the story well, but it’s a story we already know. This ends up as a very good movie that, if you feel like you want to see it, then… you don’t really need to see it.
Jack Silbert, curator