"The Manchurian Candidate" (2004) - Jonathan Demme
Having recently watched the 1964 John Frankenheimer original (which I greatly enjoyed), I was eager to see Demme's recent interpretation of the Richard Cordon novel. Given the current world situation and international sentiment towards the current US administration, I know I was in for something more than just "entertainment".
When his army unit was attacked during the Gulf War, Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber) saved his fellow soldiers including his commanding officer, Major Ben Marco (Denzel Washington), who was conveniently knocked unconscious. With the fame of a war hero, Shaw eventually becomes a vice-presidential nominee, while Marco is tormented nightmares that make question what really happen. As a Haliburton-esque conspiracy immerges, revealing a huge conglomerate attempting to control the White House, Marco must fight to expose or stop them at all costs.
While I found the film engaging and appropriate intense, I was disappointed with Demme's obvious (and often over the top) hints and similarity to the Bush administration. While I would be one of the first to criticize the current war in Iraq and the integrity of the "rebuilding", I found the conspiratorial flavour of the film a bit strong.
Putting the film aside for a second, I think a point needs to be made here. Regardless of your views on Bush, Cheney, the war and the US in general, articulating the issues in such black and white terms, is a tad shallow. While I believe that many of the decisions and actions have been wrong, some even motivated by selfish intent, ultimately I believe that the integrity of those in power cannot be so easily pigeon-holed. At any rate, I digress...
In the end, the film was well written and adequately acted, if you can get beyond the obvious politics being expressed. It is a fair adaptation of the original, though I would still favour Frankenheimer's version. I'll be interested to see the DVD special features, especially directors commentary.
When his army unit was attacked during the Gulf War, Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber) saved his fellow soldiers including his commanding officer, Major Ben Marco (Denzel Washington), who was conveniently knocked unconscious. With the fame of a war hero, Shaw eventually becomes a vice-presidential nominee, while Marco is tormented nightmares that make question what really happen. As a Haliburton-esque conspiracy immerges, revealing a huge conglomerate attempting to control the White House, Marco must fight to expose or stop them at all costs.
While I found the film engaging and appropriate intense, I was disappointed with Demme's obvious (and often over the top) hints and similarity to the Bush administration. While I would be one of the first to criticize the current war in Iraq and the integrity of the "rebuilding", I found the conspiratorial flavour of the film a bit strong.
Putting the film aside for a second, I think a point needs to be made here. Regardless of your views on Bush, Cheney, the war and the US in general, articulating the issues in such black and white terms, is a tad shallow. While I believe that many of the decisions and actions have been wrong, some even motivated by selfish intent, ultimately I believe that the integrity of those in power cannot be so easily pigeon-holed. At any rate, I digress...
In the end, the film was well written and adequately acted, if you can get beyond the obvious politics being expressed. It is a fair adaptation of the original, though I would still favour Frankenheimer's version. I'll be interested to see the DVD special features, especially directors commentary.
posted by Jamie at 10:51 a.m.
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