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Critical consensus: Miami looks great in Ides

Emily Ketterer, For The Miami Student

The Ides of March premiered last weekend with enormous praise from Miami University students and faculty.

Thursday, the "Ides of Miami Red Carpet Premiere Party" drew a sold out crowd of over 200 people to The Ides of March Oxford premiere at the Great Escape Princess 4 Theater.

Patti Liberatore, the director of performing arts, helped to organize the premiere party under the banner of Year of The Arts to celebrate Miami's role in the movie. She supports early talk of Oscar nominations for the film.

"I loved the movie and not just because it starts out at Miami University, but because it's a really good story. It's a great movie for Miami to be associated with because it has great examinations of political process and morality issues. It's really well done," Liberatore said.

The buzz at the premiere was contagious as the crowd anticipated the start of the film by walking a red carpet, taking pictures with celebrity cut outs, listening to the live DJ and participating in a drawing to win Ides of March hats and T-shirts. The energy only increased as the crowd surged into the theater and eagerly awaited the start of the film.

Trailers for other movies ran quickly and in a flash, images of Ryan Gosling and Hall Auditorium ushered in the start of the film. During the first 10 minutes of the movie, surreal images alternate between those of Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman at Hall Auditorium and Evan Rachel Wood at the Farmer School of Business. The packed theater was alive with clapping and cheering as the audience supported Miami University on the big screen. A few audience members pointed toward the screen and exclaimed as they noticed themselves or friends in the crowd of Hall Auditorium.

Junior Josh Balaskas was chosen to be an extra during a scene where Hoffman and Gosling discuss a Clooney speech backstage, and right at the end, he is seen walking by.

"I enjoyed the movie. It had a good plot with many twists. It was a little weird seeing Miami on screen, but it was great to recognize places that I frequent. What we did see of Miami looked great," Balaskas said. "But my favorite part was seeing myself!"

From there, the movie smoothly pulsed forward and familiar scenes of Miami gave way to the meat of the political drama.

The movie centers itself around a crucial, looming Democratic primary in Ohio for Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney). Morris' idealistic deputy campaign manager, Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling), ardently believes that Morris is the right candidate for the presidency and could actually incite change. However, when rival campaign manager Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) tries to lure Meyers to his team, a chain reaction of moral quandaries cause Meyers' loss of political innocence.

The many layers and plot twists of Ides of March act to highlight its commentary on America's corrupt government and political system as well as timeless moral issues. Even the movie's title alludes to these themes, as the Ides of March was a day in the Roman calendar when Julius Caesar was assassinated. Despite the well-worn theme, crisp acting and intriguing plot keep the movie alluring.

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Junior Lindsay Suprenant encourages others to see the movie.

"The subject matter of political corruption is nothing new, but the darker plot and the excellent acting drew me in and kept me interested in the film beyond the fact that Miami University is featured. I really recommend people check it out," Suprenant said.

The Ides of March is now playing uptown at the Great Escape Princess 4 Theater. Student tickets are $8.