The
Manchurian Candidate. Paramount
Pictures presents a film directed by Jonathan Demme. Written
by George Axelrod, Daniel Pyne and Dean Georgaris. Based
on the novel by Richard Condon. Running time: 130 minutes.
Rated R (for violence and some language). Starring Denzel
Washington, Liev Schreiber, Meryl Streep, Jon Voight ,
Kimbery Elise, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright. |
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Manchurian
Candidate, The (2004)
The
original Manchurian Candidate is reportedly a masterpiece.
I say reportedly because I haven't seen it, and am unable
to report on its quality. A lot of people have complained
about the film being remade, that such an act would reduce
the original into nothing more than a rote thriller. Since
I haven't seen the original, I can't compare them, but I can
say with all honesty that 2004's The Manchurian Candidate
doesn't need to be compared to the classic to be bad:
it accomplishes that all on its own.
Replacing
the original plot about Communist aggression is a revised
and modernized story involving corporate corruption, or something.
Apparently, Sgt. Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), a Persian
Gulf War hero and recepient of the Congressional Medal of
Honor, is now the Vice President, overtaking the long-standing
frontrunner (Jon Voight) in a seemingly random upset. But
Captain Ben Marco (Denzel Washington), Shaw's superior officer
in the war, has his doubts. Ever since their time in Kuwait,
he's been having dreams that suggest Shaw may not be a hero
after all, and that everyone's memories have been altered.
He suspects it is part of a plot to put a controlled President
in the White House, and that it somehow involves Shaw's Machiavellian
mother, Eleanor (Meryl Streep).
It's
all very complicated, and could make for a compelling motion
picture. But the movie is just terribly, inexplicably dull.
Not until the admittedly tense climax does the film pick up
any sort of momentum, but by that time we've long since lost
interest. The director is Jonathan Demme, the man who once
won an Oscar for The Silence of the Lambs, one of the
most tense and compelling movies of the nineties. I have no
idea what happened here; all I know is that I looked at my
watch on more than one occasion, and that 130 minutes is way,
way too long.
Much
of the reason, I think, is that the script is just sloppy
There's a lot of awkward establishing material, including
a number of clumsy set-up lines (paraphrased news footage:
"And here's Sgt. Raymond Shaw, son of controversial Senator
Eleanor Shaw, a man who once won the Congressional Medal of
Honor for saving the lives of his entire unit in the Persian
Gulf War" - an event we have just seen acted out). The
plot advances in clunky bursts, repeatedly building up to
mini-climaxes and then stopping the momentum in its tracks
in order to build again. Only the final climax really works,
but then the cop-out ending blows any good will the film may
have earned.
The
actors do all they can, but only one really stands out. Denzel
Washington is fine, but nothing special; his character often
comes off as irritating. I started to think he might just
be nuts. Liev Schreiber is pretty dull for most of the film,
but occasionally he hints at depths unexplored by the script.
And then there's Meryl Streep, who is head and shoulders above
the rest of the cast. As Eleanor, the best role in the film,
Streep is passionate, domineering, and scary.
The
Manchurian Candidate,
considering the (reported) pedigree of its predecessor, must
be a colossal disappointment. There's nothing here that hasn't
been done better before. The only reason to see the film is
Meryl Streep, and even that reward is a questionable payoff
for sitting through the rest of the film. If you need your
thriller fix, just go see The Bourne Supremacy.
©
2004 Matt Noller
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