The Ides of March

As friend and fellow blogger Chris said so succinctly in his review of this movie....politics are bad. Let that sink in for awhile. Comes as quite a revelation doesn't it? Check out his review HERE. I guess it's safe to say as a viewing audience we're not going to get many in the way of happy-go-lucky political movies these days. Yeah, recession! Political thrillers are usually pretty reliable though -- however familiar -- so I at least wanted to give 2011's The Ides of March a fair shot.

It is a week away from the all-important but not quite decisive Ohio primary for the Democratic party, and campaign adviser Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) is riding high. He is second only to veteran manager, Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman) in the campaign of Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney), a popular, likable and seemingly shoe-in candidate for the next presidential election. The Republicans have no counter for him so all Morris needs to do is gain the Democratic bid. Stephen genuinely believes in Morris, thinking he has a chance to help make things right in America where others will certainly fail. As the Ohio primary draws closer though, their Democratic rivals for the bid have news that could cripple the campaign, not to mention Stephen finding out something about the supposedly-perfect Governor Morris.

There is a certain comfort level when watching a political thriller. From older classics like Fail Safe and The Manchurian Candidate to more recent entries like Spy Game, the Jack Ryan films, and The International, it is an enjoyable genre to watch. You know what to expect going in; betrayals, under-handed deals, conspiracies, murder and who knows what else? While I don't think 'Ides' is a classic by any means, I can say I enjoyed it. The story telegraphs everything that's going to happen -- okay, there's a twist here and there -- and the characters are stock characters we've all seen before and will see again. It isn't particularly unique, new, or even that memorable, but in the moment? It's good enough. Put as much talent together as was involved here (Clooney also directed and wrote), and it's hard to mess that up.

A star on the rise, Gosling had quite a year in 2011 with starring roles here and also in Drive and Crazy, Stupid Love.  I'm not completely sold on him yet, but I think there's potential if nothing else. Just 31 years old, he is excelling of late at playing that smart, preppy, well-spoken young man able to get what he wants because he's smooth, charming and likable. In other words? Feels like he's playing himself. Of all the characters though, Gosling's Stephen is given the only real character arc from beginning to end. It sounds dumb, but it is cool to actually see a character change some over the course of a film. It is a somewhat obvious change -- idealistic and naive to bitter and manipulative -- but because Gosling is so likable, I went along for the ride. His character is supposed to be disarming and able to convince you of something without revealing he's doing that. Good if not great performance to lead the way.

The rest of the cast definitely comes from the Stock Characters 101: Political Thrillers Edition. If there was lesser talent involved, it'd be a dull movie to watch. Clooney is Clooney, a similarly charming presidential candidate who is respected and even loved by some of his followers. Some thinly veiled comparisons to the Obama campaign fall flat by the way. It's not an out of this world great part, but a necessary one. It amounts to what the Morris character means more than what we actually see. Hoffman is his typical solid self, intense throughout as the veteran campaign manager with far too many campaigns under his belt, Paul Giamatti as Tom Duffy, Hoffman's rival in the other Democratic camp. Giamatti is a scene-stealer in a small but very effective supporting role. Evan Rachel Wood is also good if a little cliched as Molly, the 20-year old intern who similarly believes in Morris, but also has her eye on Gosling's Stephen. Marisa Tomei does what she can as a walking cliche, a reporter looking for a scoop and not caring who gets taken down in the process.

It is a story that is focused on politics so are we supposed to be surprised when we find out that everyone has secrets they'd like to keep to themselves? Nothing about 'Ides' should shock viewers, absolutely nothing. If the movie is at fault, it's there. While the twists and turns in the campaign are key, they don't exactly come out of left field. Jeffrey Wright as a Democratic senator who will pledge his delegates to Morris....if he gets a cabinet seat?!? Gasp! 'Ides' shouldn't surprise you. People making decisions not on like or dislike, but the bigger picture seems like Politics 101 to me. Manipulation, betrayal, blackmail, back-alley deals, under-handed arrangements, conspiracy theorists, all the ingredients of the game.

With that said, I did like this movie. It isn't a great political thriller, but it is a good one if nothing else. If it's not particularly original or innovative, well, so be it. A good political thriller can still be a good thing.

The Ides of March <---trailer (2011): ***/****

The Conspirator

In one of the United States' biggest tragedies, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated April 14, 1865 by the actor John Wilkes Booth just a week after the Confederate surrender to Union forces at Appomattox Court House. Over the coming months, a trial was held with eight prisoners held accountable for the Lincoln assassination, but also a bigger plot, one to kill the Vice President and the Secretary of State. Among the prisoners, a lone woman, Mary Surratt, a boarding house owner who's story was told in 2010's The Conspirator.

Stunned by the assassination of President Lincoln, Civil War veteran and inexperienced lawyer Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy) is assigned the impossible. Just weeks after Lincoln's death, Aiken is assigned as defense counsel to Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), the owner of a Washington boarding house believed to be involved with the assassination plot. The country is still mourning the tragic and sudden loss of the President, and there are cries for revenge, for retribution, including against Surratt who claims she's innocent. Even Aiken struggles to come to a conclusion, balancing out his personal feelings to his country with his obligation as a lawyer. With Surratt's life very much on the line, Aiken must decide what to do, choosing whether he can actually defend this woman in a court that seems rigged to watch him fail.

It is the rare historical period piece that hits theaters over the recent years so you have to enjoy them when they do come along. When there's the talent involved here -- with director Robert Redford -- it's an almost must watch situation. The look of the movie is impressive from the uniforms down to the locations that give you the feeling of being in 1865 Washington. 'Conspirator' is at its best setting things up, bringing the time to life for history buffs and viewers being introduced to a new subject. Composer Mark Isham's score isn't a classic, but it is both epic and moody as needed.

What doesn't work so well is based in the pacing. It starts with an obvious but still major problem. I've always liked history -- and have been to Ford's Theatre several times -- so I'm familiar with Mary Surratt's name. Whether you are or aren't (or even just read the Wiki link above), there isn't much mystery here. You know how it's going to end so so-called "twists" don't produce that desired result. Getting to the ending though, the story gets bogged down in the repetitious, yawn-producing courtroom scenes. The story revels in the period accuracy, and it sounds like the speech patterns of the 1860s, but that doesn't mean it is always interesting. The pacing is leisurely to say the least, and in general doesn't have much urgency. When you know where the movie's going to end up, some sense of tension or question would have been nice.

For a movie called 'The Conspirator,' I came away surprised. If anything, it could be called 'The Conspirator's Lawyer.' McAvoy does a very solid job as Aiken, the real-life figure assigned to defend Mrs. Surratt.  The story focuses far more on him and his personal struggles than those of Surratt. Wright similarly is good if not great as Mary, portrayed as a martyr of sorts, an almost too angelic one. It just would have been nice to see her more, get to know her better as opposed to a one-note religious woman looking out for her kids' well-being at her own cost. McAvoy is torn apart inside, trying to figure out how to defend his client, putting his career on the line to see how far he can go. Their scenes lack a certain energy, but McAvoy makes the best impression in the courtroom as he desperately tries to do his job.

Working with a director -- and in general Hollywood legend -- with Redford's talent, I'm assuming actors are knocking down his door to get parts in his movies. McAvoy and Wright clearly have the biggest roles, but a handful of other parts rise above their smallish screentime. Tom Wilkinson (a British senator from Maryland?!?) plays Senator Reverdy Johnson, a man who believes even the guiltiest among us deserves a trial. A nearly unrecognizable Kevin Kline is Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, the movie's villain (because every movie needs one. An underrated actress, Evan Rachel Wood is memorable as Anna, Mary's suffering daughter trying to help her mother while Danny Huston plays Joseph Holt, the prosecuting attorney. Colm Meaney is wasted as General Hunter, head of the commission/trial. Among other smaller parts, Justin Long and Alexis Bledel fail to make much of an impression as Aiken's friend and a long-time girlfriend. Norman Reedus is the only other one of the conspirators to get more than a line or two.

It is the rare period piece so I always feel like I should enjoy these movies no matter the quality. I came away disappointed here with a historical story that should have been more interesting. There are aspects of the trial that shine some light on the cover-ups and whitewashing that was done to Surratt, efforts handled so a guilty verdict would come along no matter how ridiculously fixed things were. As a director, Redford is clearly in Surratt's corner, but he never actually spells it out mostly because as history, we'll never know for sure of Surratt's innocence or guilt. With a small footnote in our nation's history, I just wished the movie had been more enjoyable.

The Conspirator <---trailer (2010): **/****

The Missing

A child actor turned huge star director, Ron Howard has directed a variety of movies that make it hard to peg him down.  The movies are all over the place in terms of time and place setting, but maybe more than anything else Howard has focused on period pieces from Cinderella Man to Apollo 13, Frost/Nixon and several more.  But as wide-ranging as his films has been, he's only done one western, 2003's The Missing.

This is a movie that struggled in theaters -- making about $30 million in the U.S. -- while receiving some lukewarm reviews from critics.  It's a difficult one to put into any sort of category because it features so many different elements from old west mysticism to an estranged family working together after years apart.  The movie was shot on location in New Mexico and is the better for it.  If we were judging on the look of a movie alone, this would have been a huge critical and box office success.  You get the sense of a journey through the wilderness, but then you keep on traveling.  A story that at times doesn't move along too fast clocks in at 137 minutes.  Potential? Sure, but it's hard to find at times.

Living in 1885 New Mexico with her daughters Lilly (Evan Rachel Wood) and younger Dot (Jenna Boyd), single mother and "healer" Maggie (Cate Blanchett) have a tough life but a good life. One day Maggie's estranged father Sam (Tommy Lee Jones) arrives on their doorstep having abandoned Maggie and her mother and siblings as a child to live with an Apache tribe. She wants nothing to do with him at all, but when Lilly is abducted by a gang of renegade Apache scouts she has no one else to turn to.  With Dot along, Maggie and Sam ride south tracking the gang, hoping to catch up before they can cross the border into Mexico where all the women/girls kidnapped along the way will be sold to the highest bidder.

At its most traditional, 'Missing' deals with a kidnapping plot that has been used fairly often within the western genre.  There are good guys and there are bad guys, the lines pretty clearly dividing them with no middle ground.  The added element of an estranged father trying to fix a rift between himself and his daughter works surprisingly well if at times unnecessary.  We've got a band of murdering Apaches selling women, and Blanchett's Maggie still shoots daggers at Jones' Sam whenever she gets a chance.  Thankfully this isn't pushed down our throats with Sam admitting he's not looking for forgiveness, he just wanted to explain himself.  Helping bring back his granddaughter though is his chance at redemption, and he's going to take it.

Where that part could have been overdone and obnoxious, the two stars just don't let it happen.  Jones doesn't push it too far, and Blanchett is able to reel it in instead of being a stark, raving lunatic.  This is Tommy Lee Jones' movie with a quiet, understated performance.  After years away from his family, he just wants to explain himself and all his actions (or lack of) over the years.  He's a very capable man on the trail and isn't going to let anything slow him down along the way.  Other than my issue with so many foreign actors starring in westerns, Blanchett's part as Maggie is very strong.  Anytime a female character in a western can be a strong woman capable of handling herself, I'm all for it.  Other supporting parts include Val Kilmer as a cavalry officer, Aaron Eckhart as Brake, a ranchhand and Maggie's live-in boyfriend, and Jay Tavare as Katiyah, an Apache working with Sam.

For a movie that is basically one long chase, the story tends to drag in certain places.  Most of that can be chalked up to the story's reliance on Indian/Apache mysticism with a hint of witchcraft thrown in.  The leader of the renegade Apaches is called El Brujo (Eric Schweig) which Sam translates as 'an Indian witch.' The character is able to put curses on people, seems to have some link to evil and the devil, and has an all-knowing feel that he's aware of everything.  His look alone is scary, and he's a more than capable villain on his own.  The story would have been just right with him as a renegade Apache looking for blood and money without the mysticism and voodoo.  Cut those segments out, and you've got a more mainlined 100-120 minute movie.

Working with this story with so many different elements, Howard never gets graphic in his depictions of wild west violence, but he always is able to paint a picture of what's happening.  Sometimes not seeing the violence is more effective than seeing it.  We know what's going on, and actually witnessing it would be overkill.  That said, the last 30 minutes is full of action that makes up for some of the movie's slower portions.  Like most of the rest of the movie, the ending doesn't preach or make any sort of judgment, it just ends.  It is an uneven movie, but with enough positive elements to recommend it.

The Missing <----trailer (2003): ** 1/2 /****