The Ides of March

I just came back from seeing George Clooney's movie and it was good - not a nail biter, not a hide under your seat and hide movie, but tension building, thoughtful and reserved like George Clooney himself.

Imagine life as the Deputy Chief of a major presidential campagn - who can you trust?  I think its clear and has been said before that if you want a friend - buy a dog.  The main character befriends a wrtier, pledges his loyalty to his candidate, and finds himself odd man out.  The qustion is will he press his obvious advantage and get back into the game.

I've worked on a few campaigns as a volunteer, so I can tell you - you learn early on to fight hard against the other side and the resentment doesn't fall away easily.  I recall many campaigns folding into my own and being told " We're all together now" but in truth being all together doesn't make you feel better.  If those other people had been any good, wouldn't they have won?

You have to be ready to fall on the grenade but the goal is to achieve the greater victory - winning for your country, your state, your town, your district.  If the other side offers you a chance to come over early - do you take it? We all want advancement, but this movie delivers a heavy handed dose of principles on a plate.

My HR background tells me "No".  You get an offer, someone offers to take you to lunch - tell your boss and turn down the free meal - you can buy your own steak - at least you didn't get fired.  Tempted to tell your manager that you have a better offer and if they don't match it, you're taking your blocks and going home - don't get your victory parade together just yet - you'll be the first to get dumped when the company downsizes and the most charitable thing they'll tell you is "You can find something else, after all, a little while ago, something else found you, right?" Bottom line - if you're leaving, just go.

You know this character is about to take a dive, and after hearing his credentials, you wondering how someone could be so smart and yet so stupid at the same time?  I console myself with the thought that I'm a little older than he is and I've been where he's going - but then it makes me wonder if I'm too smart for this movie or just too experienced to feel sorry for him.
Writers had to work harder in the 50's to get their point across with more style and the American moviegoer was the winner with a more amusing movie.  This was good, but a little dry, a bit sad, and without the guile and wickedness that we love about movies like "All About Eve", This is a poor remake but a thoughtful thriller.   I recommend it, but I admit that I injected other endings, additonal twists and turns that might have been a distraction, but would have reminded me more of something I've actually seen, and that's why I go to the movies.