No classic, and the writers are unable to come up with a better twist than "he had sex with an intern" but it's done with panache, with a superb cast: Paul Giamanti and Philip Seymour Hoffman are especially stunning as old-time political operators, both of them with their own integrity despite oozing corruption (Hoffman hangs on to loyalty, Giamanti loves the fight but also encourages young people to give up the game).
George Clooney is appropriately charismatic as the Governor, a dream Democrat (war hero, small "l" liberal) with the disappointingly usual flaw (he can't keep his fly up), and Ryan Gosling solid. Evan Rachel Wood was so confident in seducing Gosling and the way she carried herself I had trouble believing that she'd commit suicide, even after having had an abortion - I also had trouble buying a character like her (educated, well connected) would have difficulty raising five hundred dollars for an abortion.
That aside there are some first rate scenes, it isn't overly political, there is much to mull about on the nature of corruption, Clooney's direction impresses (it reminded me of The Parallax View at times).
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