The title. Before going to watch the film I thought it was obvious what the title was referring to. But, as it turns out, not everyone is aware of the term that marks the day of Julius Caesar’s death and betrayal by his closest friend Brutus back in 44 BC. So thought I’d clarify that. It’s March 15th, the day of god Mars, when the Romans organised festivities for their army.
The film offers political fiction – one of my favourite genres. Being a devoted fan of The West Wing, expected something similar to that. The pace is not as fast, and there does not seem to be that much actual politics. What is present to a much bigger extent is office politcs rather than grand politics. This is not necessarily a flaw because it may actually be a little easier to follow the plot.
Cinematography. There is one great scene where the camera looks through three glass walls and we follow action as it moves from the last of the rooms into the first, hearing the dialogue from the back office, then the middle one and finally the first one. Interesting!
The budget. Even before I checked its budget on imdb, there are dollars dripping down every setting, drape, location.
Binary oppositions. A nice touch when juxtaposing politics with consultancy, brains with balls and friends with bosses.
Similarities to Taxi Driver. The place where the governor’s campaign headquarters are based bears an appealing resemblance to the place where Cybill Shepherd’s character works.
And there is something for the ladies too. George Clooney. And something for the younger ladies. Ryan Gosling (meow).
It’s a good film. A strong 7 but not a 10. I expected much more mind games. The only one that happens is good, but I’d like more.
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