I had a really hard time buying almost anything that was happening. I can’t recall the last time I saw a film so filled with plumber problems. Simultaneously, it feels like this film has aged poorly because American politics have changed drastically, and obviously not for the better.
Even if one is able to get past all that, there are some serious problems with this story that fail to propel it past a skin deep analysis of the situation. It repeatedly smacks viewers over the head which each part of its character analyses, often acting as its own meta commentary on the subject. Simultaneously, it is unable to recognize that the governor’s behaviour in this film is indicative of a pattern, not a one-time deal. By the time a man is so casual and cavalier about his sexual infractions, I would imagine that this is not his first time.
If anything, this film is about discovering the first of many skeletons in the governor’s closet. Yet Gosling’s character plunges headlong into making this man a presidential candidate. It is an inexplicable turn of events.
If this film took place after the governor were elected president, and the characters faced crises of faith as they decided what to do, that would have been more interesting (and probably more realistic).
The saving grace is the acting, which is good enough that almost none of these thoughts are a concern until after the credits roll. Until then, it’s your standard cynical political fare.