MOVIE REVIEW

The cast of George Clooney's political thriller "The Ides of March" is so good, you could probably enjoy watching this movie with the sound off. Silently, Ryan Gosling's oil-smooth performance as a press spokesman for presidential candidate Mike Morris (Clooney) would still be a treat, as we watch him portray a young man who's carefully learned the art of not reacting. We could still enjoy Paul Giamatti, sputtering and simmering as a rival campaign manager; Philip Seymour Hoffman, equally blustery as yet another political operative; Clooney, presenting what first looks like a perfect movie-star turn and gradually, irrevocably becoming something else; Marisa Tomei, blending world-weary smarts with eagerness as a newspaper reporter; and Evan Rachel Wood, as a self-consciously polished temptress who knows she's trouble. All have faces the camera loves, whether for beauty or character or openness; all disappear into their roles, letting us forget that we've seen them many times before.

And they're pretty good with the sound on, too. Based on a play by Beau Willimon (who worked on Howard Dean's presidential campaign), "The Ides of March" takes us on a cynical, chilling ride through a political campaign. Governor Morris, a liberal Democrat, seems like the perfect candidate (and it doesn't hurt that he looks like George Clooney), smoothly intoning lines like "Society has to be better than the individual" in a way that seems perfectly rehearsed yet somehow spontaneous. But trouble brews under the campaign's pristine slipcover: press secretary Stephen Meyers (Gosling), campaign manager Paul Zara (Hoffman) and rival campaign manager Tom Duffy (Giamatti) are carrying on an elaborate war of words, of secrets, of whispers, of deals. Meanwhile, Tomei's reporter thinks she knows something, and Wood's sultry intern knows too much.

Clooney's previous directing efforts have ranged from excellent ("Good Night, and Good Luck") to good ("Confessions of a Dangerous Mind") to forgettable ("Leatherheads"), and there's a certain predictability to "The Ides of March" that keeps it from being his best. Watching it, we're often a step ahead of the characters; you can see the inevitable direction in which the story is headed, particularly with Wood's character. But walking a familiar road can sometimes be a pleasure, especially when in the company of actors like these. All are splendid, but it's Gosling's movie — watch his face, during a long, enigmatic close-up at the end of the film (reminiscent of the final shot of Clooney in "Michael Clayton"), and you see a young man already weary, and an elegant story of dark and light, wordlessly told.

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com