Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2012

George Clooney’s elegant, cerebral (and party-neutral) thriller about the soul-sucking power of politics to corrupt is deeply cynical and at the same time disturbingly truthful. It focuses on a gifted, idealistic young campaign strategist (Ryan Gosling) working for a presidential hopeful he truly believes in (Clooney) during primary season (talk about timing!). Events teach him that even doing good involves so much compromise that the end product benefits no one. We should be afraid. Fabulous cast includes Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood and Jeffery Wright.