Here's a question: What do baseball and politics have in common? The answer: Everybody cheats! No, seriously, the answer is that they are both things which I find quite boring in real life, but enjoy when presented in movies. I keep abreast of politics and I vote, but I find most rhetoric to be boring and redundant. Politics in real life contains too much talking and not enough doing. In the movies, politics can be exciting and intriguing. A great example of this is George Clooney's The Ides of March.

The Ides of March focuses on the March presidential primary in the state of Ohio. Democratic candidate Mike Morris (George Clooney) has a nice lead over his rival. Morris' campaign is headed by Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) is in charge of media. Stephen is a young idealist and he seems to love working for Morris, who comes across as an open-minded liberal who has very radical ideas about rebuilding the country. Molly (Evan Rachel Wood), a campaign intern, begins to flirt with Stephen, and he's not too busy to return the advances. Stephen is contacted by Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), the campaign manager for Morris' opponent, who offers him a job. This begins a series of events which open Stephen's eyes to the corrupt nature of politics, and shows him that no one can be trusted.

The Ides of March is based on a play entitled Farragut North. Typically movies based on plays convey a sense that the filmmakers have attempted to remove the story from the confines of the stage and make it as big as possible. (We've all seen movies based on plays which contain a big scene which takes place outdoors or an action sequence and we think to ourselves "How did they do that/address that in the play?") The Ides of March takes a somewhat different approach. Sure, there are scenes in multiple locations and the movie never feels confined to one set, but original playwright Beau Willmon along with Clooney and Co-writer Grant Heslov have maintained a very small-scale approach. The movie maintains focus on the five main characters, as other, minor players, move in and out of the story. This isn't a big, bombastic political thriller with lots of car chases and stunts. The story examines the relationships between these individuals and how important trust is and how easily it can be broken. This approach takes larger than life characters and makes them more human.

These characters are also very interesting, especially Morris (who, I understand, is never seen in the play). Clooney has decided to portray and play him as the ultimate Democrat, laying out ideas which many candidates wouldn't approach. In his corner is Stephen, a confident young man who knows that he's good at what he does and stands firm in his ideals. The story is told primarily through Stephen's eyes and we watch his world get shattered as he's plunged head-first into the behind-closed-doors games which are played in politics. He experiences a complete paradigm shift and quickly realizes that no one can be squeaky clean in the world of politics.

Of course, The Ides of March contains lots of political buzzwords and lingo, but the film's decision to focus on the characters, their actions, and their emotions, helps to raise it above the typical movie about the government. The only portion of the movie with which I had an issue was the event which begins Stephen's change of heart. Is it realistic? Sure, but it's also cliched and it ruins one of the more interesting characters in a political movie. I can see this plot-twist ruining the movie for some, and I certainly viewed it as disappointment. However, that aside, The Ides of March is powerful stuff. Clooney proves that he knows what he's doing behind the camera, as the pacing is tight and he's able to create tension as we wait to see what Stephen is going to do. The cast is top-notch with Hoffman and Giamatti excelling as world-weary and jaded campaign managers. If you're like me, and don't get excited about politics, The Ides of March may be the movie for you.

The Ides of March mentions Bearcats more than any movie in history on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 36 Mbps. The image is incredibly sharp and clear, showing no overt grain and no defects from the source material. The crispness of the image brings a lot of depth to it and the level of detail is notable. The colors look very good and the image is never overly dark or bright. One doesn't usually go into a drama expecting great specs, but I was very impressed by the picture here. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 36 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. Again, this is a drama and one doesn't expect overwhelming audio effects. The dialogue is always clear and audible and it isn't drowned out by the score. During the rally scenes, we are provided with noticeable surround and stereo effects. This dull roar also brings the subwoofer to the party.

The Ides of March Blu-ray Disc contains a few extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Director/Co-writer/Actor George Clooney and Co-Writer/Producer Grant Heslov. "Developing the Campaign: The Origin of The Ides of March" (7 minutes) contains comments from playwright Beau Willimon, Clooney, and Heslov, as well as some cast members. They talk about how the play differs from the movie and how the play was transitioned to screen, including adding more things from reality. "Believe: George Clooney" (6 minutes) offers behind-the-scenes footage of Clooney at work and has the cast discussing what it's like working with an actor who is also the director. "On the Campaign: The Cast of The Ides of March" (6 minutes) has the cast discussing their characters and why they agreed to be in the film. "What Does a Political Consultant Do?" (7 minutes) has real-life consultant Stuart Stevens describing his job and the appeal of working on campaigns.