Manchurian Candidate (2004)
After watching the 1962-made (1964-released) original film, I wondered how terribly can modern Hollywood mess up this remake? Sure, plenty of stuff in that black and white craftwork was needless and frustrating, but the fantastic camerawork and twisty mind-bending direction is so cool! Fortunately, Silence of the Lambs’ helmer Jonathan Demme is at the wheel, so have no fear. And fans, the ending is not the same, but it’s just as good. Small winks at the original float up during the film, rewarding the careful viewer, and it really demonstrates how good this remake is if you see the original first.
Denzel Washington as Captain Ben Marco is the focal point of the film. His desperate conviction, even when we know he is right, comes off like madness to all the people who most need to believe him. It’s exciting to watch him struggle against his mind, against the authorities, against the disbelief of his cohorts. Live Schreiber is perfectly cast as Raymond Shaw, a disliked recluse who is suddenly vaulted into the biggest popularity contest the United States boasts. Schrieber can tread the line between easy charisma and unnerving creepiness, and he’s (as always) the underappreciated actor in any scene. His mother, played with wicked delight by Meryl Streep, reminds us why she has 250,000,000 acting nominations.
The film is set in the near-but-not-yet-controversial election year of 2008; echoes of the current political climate are brilliantly inserted into news footage and other media. Neither party is named, but it’s usually pretty obvious who stands for what. Unlike in 1962, we don’t have Communists and shadow governments to create the unseen evil; luckily, the current climate of unchecked corporations and permanent terror of, well, terror fills in the slate perfectly. It’s alarming how easily such different circumstances fit the bill. The film does not trouble itself to justify the baddies’ badness, but we are all accustomed to huge government and corporate interests doing things for reasons that seem incomprehensible to the little guy.
Screenwriters Daniel Pyne and Dean Georgaris take the key elements from Richard Condon’s novel and George Axelrod’s original screenplay, and makes a couple of tweaks which really streamlines a couple of the narrative hiccups from before. Even knowing the general idea of it, I still found it extremely gripping and interesting. It doesn’t hurt to have so many fantastic actors spouting your words, but the whole arc was nicely constructed. The less I tell you about the plot the better, but rest assured that you need be of no particular political stamp to really enjoy yourself here. They don’t try for the surrealistic effects of the first film (which are less groundbreaking now of course), but the sense of disorientation is still strong.
I read that Angela Lansbury bemoaned the decision to remake something so “perfect,” but she apparently didn’t see any of the scenes with Janet Leigh and Leslie Parrish. Trust me, this is a strong remake. Go see Garden State, and then go see this.
MPAA Rating R-violence and some language
Release date 7/29/04
Time in minutes 170
Director Jonathan demme
Studio Paramount
