"It's always easy to come on to a project when the director likes your music and knows your work. Everything seems kind of easier. My exchange with George [Clooney] was fruitful. He knows what he’s doing and has a strong point of view. Otherwise he wouldn’t be a great director. When I composed he would be near me at the piano in my studio. He is enthusiastic and always positive."
— Alexandre Desplat, on working with George Clooney[1]
In April 2011, Alexandre Desplat was announced as the music composer.[2] Desplat had composed for Clooney's films as an actor which includes Syriana (2005) and Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009); he commented that Clooney apart from being professional, has a great love for music, and also recalled that Clooney would guide him on the decisions of the instrumentation and placing the cues for the appropriate sequences.[3] Desplat had felt that the earlier political films of the 1970s, such as All the President's Men (1976) did not have much music, hence "it was a challenge not to overwhelm the movie with music and build tension as the movie is going on".[4]
The origins of the title refers to March, which is the month of Mars, the god of war in Roman mythology. Hence, war and betrayal were the subtext in the film as Desplat used lot of drums to bring the warlike feel.[5] Apart from that, Desplat commented that doubt is also another strong element, where doubt "allows someone to betray his friends and allies, the doubt that he’s on the right side".[5] The instrumentation had to capture the fragility for that. He further commented "On the surface, the governor is the perfect married man. But later, the integrity of the man that was all these things is gone, and you try to create suspense and a lot of it is with the timpani and drums, a rhythm motive that always comes back in the film."[5]
Desplat liked the opening and ending motifs as, he usually wanted to work on bringing the audience into the story. For the opening motif, he polished those pieces to get them right, and in the conclusion, the same motif was played from beginning, which was extremely slowed down and used strings for the piece.[3] Desplat said "It is when we are following Steven [Ryan Gosling] who is now the head of the campaign, and his rise to power is now achieved. But because of how he achieved his rise to power, by betraying everyone, it plays as almost an adagio – almost like a death march. When he’s at the top of his game, the music contradicts that."[5]
Writing for AllMusic, James Christopher Monger felt that Desplat provides "the appropriate gravitas, crafting a taut, emotional score that manages a deft balance of atmosphere and melody, blending traditional orchestral cues with late-night chamber music peppered with hints of jazz".[6] He further wrote "Desplat manages to infuse the aristocratic feel of his work on The King's Speech and The Queen with a patina of soldierly Americana, trading in booming timpanis for military snares and stoic French horns for lonesome trumpets."[6] James Southall of Movie Wave wrote "The Ides of March is another fine achievement by the composer, a dramatic and memorable work which can be added to the ever-increasing list of impressive music to come from his pen."[7] Justin Chang of Variety called it as a "brooding, busy score"[8] while A. O. Scott of The New York Times and Anthony Lane of The New Yorker complimented the score as "dark-hued" and "inoffensive".[9][10]The Hollywood Reporter commented "Alexandre Desplat's evocative yet unprepossessing soundtrack follows suit."[11] It was intended to be the possible contenders for Best Original Score at the 84th Academy Awards.[12][13]
