#theidesofmarch

The Ides of March is a date that has become synonymous with one of the most famous moments in ancient history. It refers to March 15, the day when the Roman leader Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BCE by a group of Roman senators.

In the ancient Roman Republic, the term “Ides” simply referred to the middle of the month. However, March 15 became historically significant because it was the day Caesar was killed inside the Theatre of Pompey by conspirators who feared he had gained too much power.

🎭 The event later became famous through William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, which popularized the warning, “Beware the Ides of March.”

Today, the Ides of March is remembered as a powerful reminder of how ambition, politics, and fear of tyranny shaped one of the most dramatic turning points in Roman history.

Beware the Ides of March. #ettubrute

I didn’t even realize it until the movie was over, and you might not either, but I was hungry for a political thriller/drama like The Ides of March. Based on the play Farragut North by Beau Willimon, Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) is the junior campaign manager for Mike Morris (George Clooney). They’re working their way up to run for President and competing against a fellow Democrat. The way they go about their campaign isn’t important, it’s that within a few days, the true nature the people involved in the candidature, Stephen, Mike Morris, Morris’ campaign manager Paul (Philip Seymour Hoffman), their rival’s campaign manager Tom (Paul Giamatti), the reporters covering the tussle (which include Marisa Tomei as Ida Horowicz) are shown for what they are. With all the revelations, betrayals, double-crossings, and careers at stake, you’re not sure how Stephen - who honestly wants to do good and believes in his employer - will emerge.

This is captivating stuff. Everyone is playing the game and you win by getting your candidate his deserved votes but everyone is also playing their own game and the way people use their knowledge of each other in order to get ahead is enough to make your head spin. You’ll think one character is on the up and out when all of a sudden he/she will learn something and their world will disintegrate in an instant. Then, it will get even worse for them. It's a bleak portrait of an environment where surviving without getting your throat cut and keeping your hands clean seems impossible. The way Stephen evolves as he adapts to the sudden shifts around him had me completely absorbed, and a little frightened. I was also in a state of admiration; yes, some of these people are sleazy, or just plain dirty, but you have to have to hand it to those who've figured out all the gaps in the rules and find a way to take advantage of them.

It all feels eerily realistic in many ways and the fun come from the numerous surprises throughout. How the film will play out on a second viewing, when I know where the story is going I’m not sure. I was too enthralled by the plot to really pay attention to the directing or the acting, which is high praise, isn’t it? Don’t think that because it’s about politics it’s going to be dull, and don’t think that you need to know anything about politics to appreciate it either. The Ides of March is for everyone. (On DVD, November 5, 2014)