Ides of March - An intelligent piece of work by a genius

"I set you up and then shot you in the back, because my boss does it to me and I did it to you. Its a viscious circle".

                                                                                       - Xander Cage

George Clooney is on a roll and in his 4th directorial venture, he delivers his most commercially successful and critically acclaimed movie,"Ides of March".

Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the campaign manager for the Presidential candidate Mike Morris (George Clooney), and his brilliant junior Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) draft speeches and situations to propel Morris towards the White House. Stephen gets involved with a 20 year old intern, daughter of the Democratic National Committee chairman. All hell breaks loose when Stephen is offered a job from Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), campaign manager for a rival candidate. The political future doesnot look bright for Stephen when a journalist (Maisa Tomei) threatens to publish about the job offer. 

Stephen has to decide on his principles or make sacrifices to survive. The dark side of the human nature is revealed as each protagonist tries to outsmart the other. With a bundle of twists leading Stephen towards the bargaining card to save his career, I would call it as one of the most intelligent political thriller of the recent times

Clooney and Gosling are terrific and deliver splendid performances as they bring out their dark side covered behind those innocent faces. Clooney as a director delivers an intelligent and gripping thriller with unexpected twists at every corner which will bring the House down. Hope to see more from this genius

If you are looking for a movie about good guys finishing last, this aint for you. Get ready to enjoy your coffee black.