The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
(With notes on the original 1964
version)
"...I want her part! She got the
good part. She got the role. That's the role." - Denzel
Washington on Meryl Streep in Box Office Magazine
I hadn't ever seen "The Manchurian
Candidate," the original John Frankenheimer film,
but rented it a few weeks ago in order to get acclimated
to the story before seeing this remake. My mom had
always mentioned it as one of her favorite films and
star Angela Lansbury was in the press whining that
she wished they hadn't messed with their "perfect"
film. And while the original was very good and seemed
rather innovated and edgy for its time, it also seemed
like a good candidate for an updating.
This new film, directed by Jonathan
Demme and starring Denzel Washington, is quite an
effective re-working of the story. In fact, it might
just be one of the best remakes out there. Much of
the original would have to be changed to update it
to a modern timeframe and that is done quite perfectly
here. The story is unique and engrossing and the differences
between the original and this film only serve to update
it and make it even better.
But truly the best part of this
new film is Meryl Streep. The actress who receives
numerous accolades for her work will find many more
showered upon her for her performance here. An Oscar
nod seems inevitable. Streep is a powerhouse, updating
the June Clever motherly qualities of Lansbury in
the original to full-tilt Hilary Clinton power-bitch
here. Streep plays the role perfectly and gives us
a woman so strong, smart and incisive that we wish
she was the good guy.
It's nice too that Streep's mother
here is herself a politico instead of stumping for
a mindless puppet second husband, as Lansbury did
for James Gregory in the original. Streep needs no
man to be a whole women. Well, except for her son,
whom she adores a little too much. And this is the
only place where Streep fails in this remake. The
incestuous feelings for the son character that Lansbury
evoked so wonderfully with subtlety in the original
is given a little too much overt crystallization here
providing the only unintentional laugh in the film.
As for the other differences, most
are good, but some are hard to swallow. While most
of the changes in the plot twist in this re-working
allow even the viewer who is a diehard fan of the
original enough differences to keep him or her interested
and guessing, some major differences seem wanting.
The most glaring of these is the absence of the brainwashing
scene, which was so important in the first film. Perhaps
brainwashing was a new idea in 1962. The word "brainwashing"
isn't even used in the original film. Here that process
is nearly glossed over and the "hypnotism" implied
in the original is supplanted by an "implant" in the
remake. In other words, psychology is somewhat replaced
by technology here. Still, we miss the interesting
"women's club" meeting of the original. Nothing like
that is used here.
The original film had a little-known
country as its villain and the evils of McCarthy era
Communist hatred as its subtextural point. This new
film features a multi-national, global, industrial,
giant corporation as its villain and the evils of
flag-waving, post 9/11 rhetoric as its pointed theme.
After viewing "Fahrenheit 9/11," this film seems even
more important and timely.
Notes:
Also with Liev Schreiber, Jeffrey
Wright, John Voight, Miguel Ferrer, Bruno Ganz, Robyn
Hitchcock, Al Franken, Roger Corman, Zeljko Ivanek,
Dean Stockwell, Tracey Walter, Bebe Winans, Sidney
Lumet, and Fab Five Freddy.
Demme, Scott Rudin and Tina Sinatra
(who owns the rights to the original film) are some
of the producers.
Score by Rachel Portman. Cinematography
by Tak Fujimoto.
The original also starred Frank
Sinatra, Janet Leigh, Lawrence Harvey, and John McGiver.
Based on a novel by Richard Condon.
The original screenplay by George Axelrod is also
cited as an inspiration for this current screenplay
by Daniel Payne and Dean Georgaris.
The original received numerous awards
and Lansbury won a Golden Globe and was nominated
for a Oscar. Sinatra, who did much to get the film
made wanted Lucille Ball for the role.
Sinatra went as far to have President
Kennedy call Arthur Krimm, the President of United
Artists as well as the Finance Chairmen of the Democratic
Party, to give his blessing to the film. When Kennedy
was assassinated in 1963, Sinatra pulled the film
until 1987.
Jessica Lange and Emma Thompson
were considered for the role that went to Streep.
Streep and Washington claimed not
to have watched the first film until after they shot
the remake.
Streep claimed to have based her
role on a real person but would only say that it was
not Hilary Clinton. She also hinted that it may have
been a man.
Viewed with my roomie Amanda in
Austin in August 2004. A cute boy about 17 or 18 came
and sat right behind us even though there were plenty
of seats in the theater. He was soon joined by 3 of
his male friends, also pretty cute. In what can only
be described as simply unbelievable, one of the boys
farted on purpose right when the film began much to
the snickering of his friends. They laughed almost
quietly and for just a second though. It was really
odd. They talked to each other a little bit in whispers
during the film but weren't too annoying. At the end
of the film, they all seemed to talk like they really
enjoyed it and found it compelling. Hell, even I got
bored in a couple of places and was surprised at their
admiration of the film.
