This was pretty good. The cool thing about Clooney as an actor is that he has a very old-school look and style to him, sometimes reminiscent of the likes of Cary Grant, and it’s a quality I think that has carried over to his directing too. The movie starts by scanning over newsreels, the movie ends on a very tight close-up; I watched it and thought, “this is like something from the 40’s”. And that’s a good thing, of course. In terms of style and class, Director Clooney seems completely in step with Actor Clooney, and everything is very polished and pristine.
The success it has is in providing a good snapshot of political campaigning and weaving a compelling, intricate story around it. Where it lacks maybe is that there’s not a lot in terms of character development. Ryan Gosling’s lead is the exception, but it’s a fairly simple shift.
Solid and interesting, but a little lacking in spark.
Grade: ****
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