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The Manchurian Candidate Director, Jonathan Demme not classified Now Showing 
There'll be two audiences for this film: fans of the beautifully constructed
original, and punters wanting a psychological/action flick about today's
geopolitics. Both will find Jonathan Demme's remake engaging, but
the original's fans might leave feeling smug - this film lacks its
polish and narrative drive, although well translated to a modern setting.John Frankenheimer's 1962 version had Frank Sinatra playing Korean War veteran Major Bennett Marco, tormented by dreams of brainwashing by sinister Cold War types. Nightly he sees his sergeant, Raymond Shaw, killing his soldiers when prompted by Russkies, despite his daytime belief in Shaw's heroism. We see Marco's journey through doubt and fear until he finds the truth - a plot by Commie plants to control the government, and the terrifying spectre of mind control which so perfectly captures the essence of Cold War paranoia. In this version, a corporation linked to rogue scientists and enemy governments replaces the Commies, though the stereotypes of freaky Middle Easterners are still there. Denzel Washington deftly expresses Marco's descent into paranoia, and we're never sure whether to believe his version of events. Liev Schreiber (best known for his 'Scream' appearances, but excellent in indie sleeper 'Spring Forward') does an utterly believable Shaw: reserved, troubled, and torn between his pushy mother (Meryl Streep) and his dead, revered father in his political career. Streep is almost Lady Macbeth-like as right-wing Senator Shaw, bent on victory at any cost. Reference points to the original abound, but never hijack the plot, which sets a cracking pace towards answering the pivotal questions: who are the bad guys? How will the soldiers act at crunch time? Why isn't Hollywood better utilising Meryl Streep? At heart both films are about security, populism, democracy and how to protect it. Mrs Shaw is the 'by any means necessary' camp and thinks son Raymond is a "plucky idealist" for considering the little people (though his lefty leanings are rather one-dimensional). As always, it's hard to work out where 'the government' sits, and how it's distinct from the corporation - their campaign posters look like Barbara Kruger artworks and you can't tell the parties apart (sound familiar?). Despite some flaws (Marco researches his top-secret enemies on Google, there's nothing exciting about the cinematography, and some very off-putting editing) this film teases our expectations of the genre, and is less black and white than the original - in every sense.  |
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