The film score is composed by Alexandre Desplat, who would later collaborate with Clooney on his other directorial ventures, The Monuments Men (2014), Suburbicon (2017) and The Midnight Sky (2020).

Hence, war and betrayal were the subtext in the film as Desplat used lot of drums to bring the warlike feel.

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] 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.