Now I'll admit that when Stevie walked in and saw Molly's body on the floor, it was an incredibly effective scene. And there were parts surrounding it that worked well but that is because it was a well made film, not necessarily a well structured script. My issue with the suicide is that it took a film about political maneuvering and the subtle choices that can reshape an entire life and pushed it into melodrama. We went from having to make tough choices and dealing with figurative skeletons in the closet to almost literally having a skeleton in the closet. I think the film would have been a stronger character piece and more reflective on the political process if the film ended with Gosling getting fired. It could have shown how talent, brains, skill, what have you doesn't matter in D.C. and how killing the career of someone who could be the best in the business is nothing to the current slate of kingmakers up on the hill.

Personally, I would have rather watched a film about how a hint of idealism could be deadly for even the most talented and popular politico than follow Stevie on a seedy downward spiral. It's like someone took a West Wing script and forced in a Gossip Girl storyline into the last half of the script. I can't argue that the Gossip Girl angle didn't have its positives but I was just disappointed that the film took such a harsh turn. I think the film could have been just as entertaining and more enlightening had they just ended with Stevie getting tricked, his career derailed, and he ends up as a well paid but miserable consultant. As beautiful as Evan Rachel Wood is, I'd rather have seen more backroom dealings than bedroom hanky panky. (And I'd like to check out the play or original script some time because I don't know why they added that she was the DNC Chairman's daughter. What did that fact add to the proceedings?)

And one final related note, I've been thinking about making next year's New Year's Resolution to be to avoid trailer altogether and this film cemented it. One of the key conflicts of the movie, getting the endorsement of Jeffrey Wright's character, was given away in the trailer. I have to admit that I had that in my head the entire time and I have to think that it hurt how I viewed the film. And when it comes down to it, trailers rarely, if ever, alter my thinking of a film. I read up about movies online, my anticipation is almost always already built up by the subject, cast, director, etc. I can't remember the last time that there was a movie that I knew about that I went to see based on liking the trailer. I've already stopped trying to watch the additional footage that studios release before films come out. I know that I want to see "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" so there's really no need for me to watch any of the extra footage that is being thrown at me. It really can't do anything positive for me.
I really think that if I read a little less about movies, watch as few trailers as possible and avoid any and all additional pre-release clips, I'll like more films because the more you know, the less surprises there are. A great example of this is Pineapple Express which I LOVED. But I saw it at a preview screening so the ads and trailers didn't ruin any of the gags for me. When James Franco's foot got caught in the windshield, I was on the floor because I didn't see it coming at all. Had I seen the film when it was finally released, that moment would have been diminished, if not killed, because it was in the ads.

In fact, forget New Year's. I'm making that resolution right now. Yes, it'll kill my site a little bit since I post a lot of trailers but I think we'll all be better off without them.