A polished remake of a 60s classic, The Manchurian Candidate modernises the original without ever equalling it. Tapping into contemporary fears, the Commies are replaced by corporations as the mind-controlling boogeymen who plan to install their drone, Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), as Vice President. A hero of the first Gulf War, he appears an ideal candidate, until fellow veteran Ben Marco (Denzel Washington) starts investigating the source of their shared nightmares...
Schreiber excels. An actor whose hard-edged, hawkish features are undercut by a jittery vulnerability, he's perfect playing someone who is never quite himself. His confused, conflicted character gives heart to Jonathan Demme's thriller, even when it becomes somewhat overripe and mechanical. It's an Oscar-worthy turn. Washington, of course, already has two Golden Baldies and is as charismatic and enjoyable as ever, offering a variation on his hard-drinking, haunted soldier from Courage Under Fire. Then there's Meryl Streep as sinister senator Shaw, pulling strings for her son and chewing scenery as a Hilary Clinton clone with an unsettling, incestuous edge.
"THERE'S NOTHING TO MATCH THE DELIRIOUS GENIUS OF THE ORIGINAL"
It's a cast to kill for, but The Manchurian Candidate isn't consistently on target. There are arresting moments - the painted ladies brainwash sequence; the atmospheric lakeside assassination - but nothing to match the delirious genius of the original's tea party scene.
And while the first film could be read as a satire on American fears of a red menace, this version takes itself very seriously indeed, with characters super concerned that Schreiber could prove the first privately owned US VP. Given the controversy that surrounded Fahrenheit 9/11's allegations of political chicanery, this idea feels up-to-date but not very daring. Like your dad trying to be rebellious, The
Manchurian Candidate is admirable but never cool.
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
