The Ides of March and Ryan Gosling

When I first saw Ryan Gosling, he appeared in a movie, Murder by Numbers, about two high school seniors who believe they can commit the perfect murder. He was an actor that you wanted to give your full attention; he was sexy and scary. Gosling's acting was focused and convincing in that film as it was in The Ides Of March, a really fascinating film that seemed all too real about politics and campaigns.

He is an actor that makes his point without fooling around and definitely makes an impression that is unforgettable. Now that we have an election in just a few weeks, it was really poignant regarding ethics, special interests and the entire corrupt and often cutthroat nature of politics today. We get a small feel for this in our own local elections.

The plot surrounds the quick-paced, often-brutal decisions made by both campaigns. The Morris camp needs to decide how far they are willing to bend their ethics to win the hearts and minds of the voters. On the surface, Governor Morris, played by George Clooney (who also directed this film and was one of the screen writers), is an ethical guy who will not cave into special interests or politicians asking for favors. However, along the way he makes a personal mistake and all the things he believed in become compromised in order to win the Presidency of the United States. Gosling, a smart campaign staffer, takes advantage of the Governor's weakness to protect his own self interests. The film showed the cutthroat nature of American politics--that it's all about who is the most clever and who can win the game.

Gosling is heading for an Academy Award one of these days. Perhaps it will be this film. That's how much I liked it.