Ryan Gosling stars as an idealistic political operative in The Ides of March, a political thriller co-written and directed by George Clooney, who also stars as a Democratic governor running for president. There's a tight race in Ohio and Gosling's Steven Meyers finds himself at the center of intrigue. He's being sought out by an intern, played coyly by Evan Rachel Wood, wooed by the opposition in the form of Paul Giamatti, the topic of media attention via Marissa Tomei's hard news print reporter, and the right-hand man to Philip Seymore Hoffman's campaign manager. All seems to be going well on the campaign, until Meyers finds out his candidate isn't as perfect as he thought, and in an effort to save the campaign.. Meyers decides to sell his political soul, with disastrous consequences. The script, as written by Clooney and his producing partner Grant Heslov, is tight, gripping and somewhat demoralizing. The politics are dirty and the backroom deals leave a bad taste in the viewers mouth, yet they are what makes the political machine run. Gosling puts in a terrific performance and it seems fair to say several "best actor" nominations could be directed at him in the coming months. The supporting cast is terrific in each of their cut-throat roles. Clooney claims the story is non-partisan, and perhaps he's right, but here's a question..If politics is really this dirty, why did candidates every engage in the "character debate?" Less