“The Ides of March” – “Moneyball” – “50/50”
By WARREN DAY
Photo: Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
Three of the best films of 2011 are in theaters right now, three films that deserved to be seen by the widest audience possible, and yet they stand in danger of being sidelined by one off-putting word that might keep you and others from seeing them.
For “The Ides of March,” it’s the word “politics;” for “Moneyball,” it’s “baseball;” and for “50/50,” it’s the scariest word of them all, “cancer.” To say these three excellent movies are about those three words is like saying the movie “Titantic” is about drowning. They may have as their backgrounds those three things, but what they are actually about is something far different and of a much bigger interest to the average moviegoer.
“The Ides of March” is a psychological thriller about the high-stakes games people play when they want power and when they feel threatened in their efforts to obtain it. It takes place during a highly-contested presidential primary, but it could take place in Wall Street, a network news division, the company where you work, or any place where the selection of one person could make or break other careers. It stars Ryan Gosling as someone who’s torn between his conscience and his ambitions (most of us have been in that situation to some degree). Along with “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” “Drive,” and now this movie, Gosling is having one sterling showcase of a year. George Clooney also stars as the flawed Democratic candidate, and he also directed, produced, and co-wrote the screenplay. He does all of those things admirably. My qualm is that this movie feeds too easily into our cynicism that all politicians (and their staff) are shady characters – but in the present national mood, many Republicans, Democrats, and even those who are apolitical, would say “Amen” to that.
“Moneyball” is from the bestselling, non-fiction book by the same author who wrote “The Blind Side.” It’s also an inspirational story about someone who decides that the way a certain business has been run, a major league baseball team in this case, is wrong and sets about breaking all the cherished rules. Brad Pitt as the real-life Billy Beane is mesmerizing, and Jonah Hill almost steals the movie in his first dramatic part. The always good Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the beleagued team manager (he’s also in “Ides of March”). You don’t have to know baseball (any more than you have to like politics with “Ides of March”) to really enjoy watching an underdog go up against an entrenched establishment. It’s the kind of David and Goliath story that we never get tired of, particularly when it’s as well done as this one.
No other movie of this or any recent year walks so many tightropes as successfully as does “50/50.” Like “Moneyball,” it is based on a true story, and it contains laughs and insights that could only come from a writer who’s lived it. “50/50” is one of the funniest films of the year, and yes it is about a 27-year-old (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who has cancer. The laughs (and the tears) come from how he, his best friend (Seth Rogen in his finest role), his girlfriend, his therapist, and his mother (Anjelica Houston in a comeback role) react to that situation. It’s as emotionally moving as it is funny and one of the movies where you leave the theater feeling that sometimes the good guy does indeed finish first.
One thing all three of these films have in common is that they contain some of the best acting to be seen on the screen this year. Brad Pitt and Joseph Gordon-Levitt deserve nominations for Best Actor, and George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jonah Hill and Anjelina Huston warrant strong consideration in the Best Supporting category.
And these films remind us to be cautious whenever someone tries to sum up any movie, person, or idea in a single word, because we all know how wrong that can be when one word has been applied to ourselves–whether that word is gay or straight, young or old, white or black.
If you want to see a really depressing movie, then see the ridiculously bad “Abduction” with Taylor Lautner, but if you want an exciting and fulfilling evening at the movies, make your way now to “The Ides of March,” “Moneyball,” and “50/50.” Your mind, your soul, and your funny-bone will be glad you did.
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