Reviews
The Daily Mail
Chris Tookey
"The Ides Of March is a more world-weary, fearlessly realistic film, and the most persuasive account yet of working inside politics. "
28/10/2011
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The Evening Standard
Derek Malcolm
"What we get is a well-directed, splendidly acted political parable which, if it doesn't reach great heights, ascends beyond most Hollywood fare."
28/10/2011
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The Financial Times
Antonia Quirke
"A marvellously stable thriller that squeezes you so expertly you react in all the ways it wants. "
28/10/2011
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The Times
Kate Muir
"Based on the play Farragut North by Beau Willimon, the film still feels full of theatrical set pieces. While atmospherically shot, with a heavy-guns orchestral soundtrack from Alexandre Desplat, there is a lack of the expansiveness needed for the big screen."
31/08/2011
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The Observer
Philip French
"A serious film that reveals Clooney as a director capable of welding his fellow performers into a superb ensemble while sustaining both dramatic tension and moral focus.
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30/10/2011
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Time Magazine
Richard Corliss
"The Ides of March says that American politics is a beachfront property with sharks surfing the waves. That makes this skeptical, savory movie a rich offering from Hollywood's liberal Ambassador, and a splendid diversion from the drab crankiness of real politics.
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06/10/2011
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The Sunday Times
Cosmo Landesman
"The Ides of March is not the important film it tries to be, and it certainly fails to resonate with any sense of where America is at today. Yet for all that, it is certainly enjoyable and engaging as a superior soapy drama — a kind of West Wing lite.
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30/10/2011
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Empire Magazine
Angie Errigo
"This is not intended to be so much a political tale as a Faustian one ... The quality of the cast and the direction are superior. The content, more average."
24/10/2011
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The Scotsman
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"Clooney may have ruled out any possibility of heading into the political arena in real life, but onscreen he has the emollient persuasiveness of a practised politician, or a movie star.
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28/10/2011
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The Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
"An intelligent, involving picture that feels all too real — until it doesn't.
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07/10/2011
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The Guardian
Peter Bradshaw
"A high-IQ film, with a really good lead performance from Gosling."
27/10/2011
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The Independent
Geoffrey MacNab
"The Ides of March self-consciously evokes the great political thrillers of the 1970s. The disappointment is that it isn't really very political. The real focus is on human nature, not ideology. Clooney [is] telling us that politics brings out the venality in everyone – and that is something we already know."
28/10/2011
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The New York Times
A. O Scott
"Somehow, the film is missing both adrenaline and gravity, notwithstanding some frantic early moments and a late swerve toward tragedy. It makes its points carefully and unimpeachably but does not bring much in the way of insight or risk. Powerful men often treat women as sexual playthings. Reporters do not always get things right. Politicians sometimes lie. If any of that sounds like news to you, then you may well find “The Ides of March” downright electrifying. "
06/10/2011
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The Daily Telegraph
Tim Robey
"The movie wants to be crackling and of-the-moment, but Clooney’s choice of material – a play called Farragut North, loosely based on Howard Dean’s 2004 Democratic primary – gives it the feel of yesterday’s news. Still, yesterday’s news isn’t without value, and this might hold up nicely as a period piece, when contemporary currency is fully out of sight."
27/10/2011
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Time Out
Dave Calhoun
"There’s a dullness to the film’s edges that means it’s not cutting enough, and a late lunge for noir stylings is weak, even if all involved do their best to stress the horrible gulf between public ideals and private ambition. "
27/10/2011
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The New Statesman
Ryan Gilbey
"Clooney is so worried we'll miss the left turn that he heralds it with sombre musical cues. I don't know what it is with him and directing; I rather wish he wouldn't. The Ides of March isn't embarrassingly inept like his last film, Leatherheads, but nor is it more distinguished than an average TV movie.
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27/10/2011
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