Starring: Denzel Washington, Meryl Steep and Liev Schreiber
Director: Jonathan Demme
Rated: MA15+
TO my surprise, I have found critical enthusiasm among many critics for The Manchurian Candidate.
So I am at a loss, and apparently alone, because I found this film to be a rather ordinary thriller.
Unlike the original, which was a subtle, nuanced critique of that great American virtue of fear-mongering, Jonathan Demme’s contemporary tale of grotesque political manipulation is leaden with facile demons and easy platitudes (and let’s face it, if you remake a classic, you deserve the comparisons you elicit).
If you don’t know the story of the original film (or Richard Condon’s novel), The Manchurian Candidate describes the paranoid journey of a troop of soldiers who have been brainwashed in 1962 by the Communists, and in 2004 by a mostly American, but assuredly multinational, conglomerate.
In both films, the bad guys have their sights set on the American presidency and will manipulate the soldiers to achieve their ends.
Perhaps I didn’t like the film because it feels dated?
Why, after all, would a corporation go to all the trouble of developing complex neural implants, staging a make-believe battle scene during the Iraq War (the first one) and then attempt to assassinate a candidate for the American presidency when it’s so much easier to just buy the office outright?
Remaking a film of classic stature is always a dubious choice.
But I will allow that the contemporary world of American politics, wherein you are either with us or a terrorist, was probably irresistible when considering the remake of a film which superbly critiqued an era when you were either with us or a Communist.
But, for me, a strident and obvious social commentary is worse than no commentary at all.
I suspect it is on this point where I diverged with the mainstream critics who must have championed this film because they feel that any critique on the corporate control of the American political system is worthwhile.
This film is ultimately an empty attack on the corrupting force of corporate money on the political process.
If you haven’t seen the first one and aren’t interested in the contemporary American political scene, you might find a little adrenaline in this generic, plodding and ultimately sanctimonious thriller.
