Marisa Tomei at the Beverly Hills screening of The Ides of March.
The Oscar-winning actress (and three-time nominee) likes topical films. What she really hungers for, though, is a major role as a Canadian: late Toronto writer/activist Jane Jacobs, whose views on urban living transformed this city and others.
“I would love to play Jane Jacobs; I just think she is so fascinating,” Tomei says, in an interview last month during TIFF.
“I love how she came to her activism. I love how she looks so cute with those glasses. I love that she saved Greenwich Village. And I really think the power dynamic between her and (New York City urban planner) Robert Moses is utterly fascinating.”
Jacobs, who died in 2006 at age 89, was born in Pennsylvania, but became a Canadian citizen after moving to Toronto in 1968. She wrote an influential book on urban planning, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961). In Toronto, she played a role in stopping the Spadina Expressway and creating the St. Lawrence neighbourhood.
Jacobs was a good example of the pen being mightier than the sword, which is also the aim of Ida Horowicz, the high-level and hard-nosed Times columnist Tomei plays in Clooney’s presidential contest saga.
Q. Does talking to journalists prepare you for a role like this?
A. I had to really dig down deep to be that aggressive! I had to really psyche myself up every day and talk to George a lot about it to help me stay grounded and really in control with that level of fierceness.
Yes, her intellect is sharp and she’s swimming with very, very smart people and they’re all having a ball the way they play so hard with each other, but to stay in that space . . . Personally, I don’t even play sports, so the level of gamesmanship was a different head for me.
Q. You’ve been interviewed many times. You must have met a lot of obnoxious journalists like Ida.
A. Well, I don’t really think she’s that obnoxious.
Q. How about “forceful,” then?
A. Fierce. What we’re talking about is not like the stakes of where the country is going, so it’s not nearly that level of hardball because the stakes just aren’t as high.
Q. Was there any particular reporter you modelled yourself after?
A. No. I asked George about that, actually, because he had written it, to see if there was someone he had in mind. And there wasn’t anybody who actually does that same job. There’s no exact correlation because someone who had that much power at the Times wouldn’t be going on the road.
So he kind of conflated it for the purposes of the film. I had a done a movie with John Cusack called War Inc., in which I had played a journalist, so that’s when I did a lot of looking at journalism. I had that under my belt.
Q. Are you a political junkie?
A. I wouldn’t say I’m a junkie, but I do follow it.
Q. Do you get involved in any political causes?
A. I do, but it’s more in cycles — cycles of despondence and ebullience! I don’t want to read the paper a lot, lately. But I do, and I do participate, and I talk about it and keep up and stay active. I participate if there’s a candidate that I believe in. I’ll work for that person. I feel like it’s interesting, but only to a point. There’s not a lot of soul. . .
That was part of the way I was raised. My parents were very socially conscious and they always had us campaigning or protesting or marching.
Q. Does a cynical movie like The Ides of March change how you feel about politics?
A. It does, actually. It’s scarier than I want it to be — the idealistic part of me, the optimist. And that’s not going to change, because it’s part of my nature.
But I said to George, “It’s going to be hard for me to relate to these people,” and he said, “Yes, well, it’s hard for most people to relate because this is a rarefied world. But this is how it happens.”
America is a beautiful country. That’s for sure. But I appreciate being disillusioned by this film, in a strange way. I really do. I don’t feel like I come away disgusted and more cynical. I appreciate the veil being lifted. That’s my reaction to it. I think there’s obviously a myriad of ways to react to it.
Q. Do you think you can make your Jane Jacobs movie happen?
A. Yes! I need to get a little more get-up-and-go for that kind of thing! Being around Phil Hoffman and Ryan Gosling and George, it’s inspiring to see how they create their own work and I’d like to come into my own. I’ve been having talks with myself about doing that but I don’t have the gumption yet. We’ll see.
The Ides of March: White House, black hearts
Saeed Adyani/Columbia PicturesRyan Gosling plays a naive press wrangler for a presidential contender in the Ides of March.
The Ides of March
(out of 4)
Starring Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood and Marisa Tomei. 101 minutes. Opens Oct. 7 at major theatres. 14A
If talk is cheap in current American politics, so too is the huffing and puffing that makes The Ides of March less of an eye opener than it aspires to be.
Well-worn political corridors are traversed in George Clooney’s presidential campaign drama, which frets over cynical backroom maneuvrings and minor loyalty tests as if this were 1951 rather than 2011.
That’s entirely forgivable, because stellar performances make the movie: Ryan Gosling and Clooney lead a crack cast that also includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright and Marisa Tomei, all at the top of their game.
They’re great to watch together, even if your eyes occasionally roll.
Clooney doesn’t stint on the star power for his fourth and most accomplished directorial turn, which includes casting himself as Mike Morris, the Pennsylvanian governor who seeks to lead the Democrats in a presidential contest, first by winning the crucial Ohio primary.
The actor/director also succeeds in his choice of cinematographer: Phedon Papamichael, who renders Ohio’s chilly towers and hotel rooms as effectively as he does Hawaii’s sand and surf in The Descendants, the other big Clooney starrer this fall.
Where Clooney and frequent collaborator Grant Heslov literally lose the plot is in their screen adaptation, with Beau Willimon, of Willimon’s play Farragut North. They manage to lift the action away from the confines of the stage but the battles fought seem more like a skirmish amongst trolls than a clash of titans.
The central figure isn’t Morris but rather his press wrangler Stephen Myers (Gosling), who is described by an opponent as “the best media mind in the country.” That’s high praise for a guy who seems awfully naïve about how things work in the “gotcha!” world of 2011, where instant spin on blogs or Twitter can quickly undo the best-laid plans.
Myers insists he’s a true believer in Morris, even though his boss exudes more style than substance. (Morris’s elastic arguments include speaking out against capital punishment while at the same time vowing to personally kill anyone who hurts his family.)
“Nothing bad happens when you’re doing the right thing,” Myers tells an incredulous Morris, who doubtless wonders if his young advisor also believes in the Tooth Fairy.
But Myers isn’t all warm milk and cookies, even though, at age 30, he’s too young to remember the dirty tricks of Watergate first-hand. He has a streak of rank opportunism that Gosling hides just behind his boyish smile and innocent blue eyes.
He urges Morris to propose a military-style draft for those under 18 (“They can’t vote”). Myers is equally swift with the ladies: he beds and dispatches pliant young intern Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood), barely remembering her name as he does so.
Still, he has a ways to go to reach the cynical depths already sounded by Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Morris’s campaign manager and Myers’ boss and mentor, who long ago stopped believing in the milk of human kindness and who fiercely rates loyalty ahead of love.
Zara’s campaign rival is the equally blustery Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti). Duffy manages the other Democratic challenger, a conservative senator named Pullman (Michael Mantell), who looks as if he’d be far more comfortable running for the Republicans.
Together with Ida Horowicz (Marisa Tomei), a New York Times reporter who puts scoops ahead of virtue, Zara and Duffy are a Greek chorus for jaded times — although the film’s title points to Rome, and Julius Caesar.
“This is not about the democratic process,” Duffy says, when the discussion threatens to turn high-minded. “It’s about getting your guy in office.”
These situational ethics won’t come as a revelation to anyone who has seen Primary Colors, The Candidate, Robert Altman’s Tanner ’88 TV miniseries or any number of similar political movies.
Nor will they startle anyone who reads a newspaper, following the course of politicians who promise “hope” and “change” while campaigning yet who maintain the gloomy status quo when elected.
Yet Clooney seems to think of it as blinding revelation, as if he is the first to pull the curtain across and find no wizard there. His loss-of-innocence examples seem more of the stage than of the real world.
The Ides of March turns on a meeting between two rivals that the plot construes as betrayal, yet clearer minds would call simple jousting. A character’s shift from loyal lieutenant to bitter antagonist is equally lacking in clarity. And — shocker! — who would ever guess that a political porker would expect something in return for his oink of approval?
Shortcomings aside, The Ides of March does provide an impressive showcase for fine actors to explore eternal truths about trust, loyalty and accountability.
Clooney continues to develop as a director, learning the benefits of understatement. A key scene where someone receives bad news is shown wordless and almost without people, an ominous black car being all that’s needed.
And in a weird sense, The Ides of March is the cynic’s choice for today’s politics of disillusionment. Like so many politicians, you want it to be better than it ultimately proves to be.
(out of 4)Starring Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood and Marisa Tomei. 101 minutes. Opens Oct. 7 at major theatres. 14A
If talk is cheap in current American politics, so too is the huffing and puffing that makes The Ides of March less of an eye opener than it aspires to be.
Well-worn political corridors are traversed in George Clooney’s presidential campaign drama, which frets over cynical backroom maneuvrings and minor loyalty tests as if this were 1951 rather than 2011.
That’s entirely forgivable, because stellar performances make the movie: Ryan Gosling and Clooney lead a crack cast that also includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright and Marisa Tomei, all at the top of their game.
They’re great to watch together, even if your eyes occasionally roll.
Clooney doesn’t stint on the star power for his fourth and most accomplished directorial turn, which includes casting himself as Mike Morris, the Pennsylvanian governor who seeks to lead the Democrats in a presidential contest, first by winning the crucial Ohio primary.
The actor/director also succeeds in his choice of cinematographer: Phedon Papamichael, who renders Ohio’s chilly towers and hotel rooms as effectively as he does Hawaii’s sand and surf in The Descendants, the other big Clooney starrer this fall.
Where Clooney and frequent collaborator Grant Heslov literally lose the plot is in their screen adaptation, with Beau Willimon, of Willimon’s play Farragut North. They manage to lift the action away from the confines of the stage but the battles fought seem more like a skirmish amongst trolls than a clash of titans.
The central figure isn’t Morris but rather his press wrangler Stephen Myers (Gosling), who is described by an opponent as “the best media mind in the country.” That’s high praise for a guy who seems awfully naïve about how things work in the “gotcha!” world of 2011, where instant spin on blogs or Twitter can quickly undo the best-laid plans.
Myers insists he’s a true believer in Morris, even though his boss exudes more style than substance. (Morris’s elastic arguments include speaking out against capital punishment while at the same time vowing to personally kill anyone who hurts his family.)
“Nothing bad happens when you’re doing the right thing,” Myers tells an incredulous Morris, who doubtless wonders if his young advisor also believes in the Tooth Fairy.
But Myers isn’t all warm milk and cookies, even though, at age 30, he’s too young to remember the dirty tricks of Watergate first-hand. He has a streak of rank opportunism that Gosling hides just behind his boyish smile and innocent blue eyes.
He urges Morris to propose a military-style draft for those under 18 (“They can’t vote”). Myers is equally swift with the ladies: he beds and dispatches pliant young intern Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood), barely remembering her name as he does so.
Still, he has a ways to go to reach the cynical depths already sounded by Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Morris’s campaign manager and Myers’ boss and mentor, who long ago stopped believing in the milk of human kindness and who fiercely rates loyalty ahead of love.
Zara’s campaign rival is the equally blustery Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti). Duffy manages the other Democratic challenger, a conservative senator named Pullman (Michael Mantell), who looks as if he’d be far more comfortable running for the Republicans.
Together with Ida Horowicz (Marisa Tomei), a New York Times reporter who puts scoops ahead of virtue, Zara and Duffy are a Greek chorus for jaded times — although the film’s title points to Rome, and Julius Caesar.
“This is not about the democratic process,” Duffy says, when the discussion threatens to turn high-minded. “It’s about getting your guy in office.”
These situational ethics won’t come as a revelation to anyone who has seen Primary Colors, The Candidate, Robert Altman’s Tanner ’88 TV miniseries or any number of similar political movies.
Nor will they startle anyone who reads a newspaper, following the course of politicians who promise “hope” and “change” while campaigning yet who maintain the gloomy status quo when elected.
Yet Clooney seems to think of it as blinding revelation, as if he is the first to pull the curtain across and find no wizard there. His loss-of-innocence examples seem more of the stage than of the real world.
The Ides of March turns on a meeting between two rivals that the plot construes as betrayal, yet clearer minds would call simple jousting. A character’s shift from loyal lieutenant to bitter antagonist is equally lacking in clarity. And — shocker! — who would ever guess that a political porker would expect something in return for his oink of approval?
Shortcomings aside, The Ides of March does provide an impressive showcase for fine actors to explore eternal truths about trust, loyalty and accountability.
Clooney continues to develop as a director, learning the benefits of understatement. A key scene where someone receives bad news is shown wordless and almost without people, an ominous black car being all that’s needed.
And in a weird sense, The Ides of March is the cynic’s choice for today’s politics of disillusionment. Like so many politicians, you want it to be better than it ultimately proves to be.
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