A procedural on the political manipulation of medium and message, George Clooney's fourth directorial effort is bookended with scenes of media-op prepping. In the first, Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling), a 30-year-old campaign adviser to Democratic presidential candidate Mike Morris (Clooney), fills in for his boss at the sound check for a televised debate leading up to a queasily close Ohio primary. Stephen runs through lines from the candidate's bluff-heavy speech, suggesting that anyone who doesn't buy Morris' political and religious credentials shouldn't vote for him, and concludes with his own glib ad lib: "Whatever you do,... More >>>