What seems to be one of the most relevant questions of
today is would you take Ryan Reynolds or Ryan Gosling? Especially after Deadpool most say Reynolds in a
heartbeat. Personally, I’ve been more of a fan of Gosling ever since Drive. So I was excited about this
movie. I also remembered that it would have Philip Seymour Hoffman (who I will
abbreviate as PSH) which can only ever be a benefit, and the film was rounded
out by the likes of Jeffrey Wright and Paul Giamatti. Right off the back this
movie is built to be a dramatic powerhouse aiming at the Oscars.
Ryan Gosling plays Stephen, a man just under the campaign
manager (PSH) for George Clooney’s democratic campaign in the primaries; the
political aspect focuses on needing the delegates from Ohio’s primary as the
ticket to the White House. Giamatti comes in as the rival campaign manager, and
Wright is a representative who has dropped out but has plenty of delegates and
support to give to the candidate that promises him a cabinet post. All of this
is good, smart stuff that is just asking to have a plot twist happen somewhere.
You can just feel that there’s going to be some kind of punch that drives the
film through.
But it totally falls flat. Gosling plays an optimistic
staff worker who sees the best in his candidate, but as the movie goes on, he
starts seeing the darker side of politics. This eventual darker turn is
supposed to work well; however, without giving away any spoilers, the movie has
a plot twist about an hour in and sticks with it through the remainder of the
film. The problem is how basic the twist is. It feels like such a cop out.
There’s a bunch of political intrigue to dive into, but instead the movie takes
a clichéd personal route where the characters all relate to each other in some “meaningful”
way to tie it all up. And it’s just lame. It’s formulaic, and anyone who
watches movies will be neither surprised nor interested in the plot twist.
Okay, so the story and intensity let me down. “How about
the acting?” you may ask. Well, good question, devoted readers. Overall,
Gosling’s character is pretty simple. It doesn’t call for him to really do much
besides be charismatic in the first half and darker in the second. It’s a good
performance, but there isn’t much depth. Clooney limits his own screen time to
focus on the directing, but what we do see of his character is pretty
interesting. Again, the twist is lame, but that doesn’t take away from his
performance. Giamatti and Wright are always strong supporting characters. The
real hero is PSH. I swear, this late actor was the actor of our generation. He
has a very distinguished style in his acting, but every single character he has
in every movie he does he makes his own. They’re all different, interesting,
and scene-stealing. It seriously hurts
knowing that he died well before his time was due, but every movie I’ve watched
with him is only ever elevated by his performance. The same goes for this
movie. He may not carry the same kind of gravitas you see with A list actors,
but the subtlety in his expressions and vocals is some of the greatest work I have
ever seen. This by far isn't his best film, but it still brings me so much join
watching PSH do his work.
Honestly, I’d say stay away from this film. It’s not a
drama that will bore you by any means, but it won’t have any effect on you at
all. Except maybe that there’s dirt in every profession, there isn’t really a
message to take away, and there was zero intensity necessary to make a true drama
work. And it all stems from the plot twist an hour into the film. It’s a shame
to see a mistake like that basically ruin a decent film. I knew I should’ve
watched Beauty and the Beast instead
of this film…
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