Review of The Manchurian Candidate (2004) by Filipeneto — 16 Jan 2022

This film is a remake of a much older film, in which the action takes place during the Korean War and beyond, always in the context of the Cold War and the US paranoia surrounding the communist threat within its own borders. Here, the script was subject to an important update, which brought the story into a more recent chronology and context, linking to the First Gulf War and the American military presence in the Persian region.

Aside from this update, the core of the plot remains: a group of American soldiers is captured by Islamic fighters, only to return some time later, with only a few casualties to mourn and led by a sergeant who, out of bravery, is turned into a war hero. Coincidence or not, this sergeant is the son of a very influential politician, and with many ambitions for his offspring. That way, it won't be long before she starts baiting her domestic hero into using her new trump card in the political arena, aimed at her election as Vice President. It turns out that there are some soldiers in that unit who begin to have nightmares where they see their comrades being brainwashed and that same war hero killing uniformed comrades under hypnosis. One of those ex-military men, Ben Marco, is determined to discover the truth and will challenge everyone and everything to find out what really happened.

The movie is quite good, and it's really worth it... but that doesn't mean it's flawless or flawless. In fact, the script update has robbed it of some credibility: I don't think Islamic fighters would cooperate so easily with a powerful multinational corporation full of money and ambition, as the film suggests. However, if we decide to give the script a chance and ignore these issues, the film gives us an interesting job of entertainment, in which the 'suspense' is guaranteed and effective.

Denzel Washington assures an unequivocal and solid protagonism. A safe bet, he's an effective actor in this type of film, which just makes mistakes because he seems to be doing more than we've seen him do before, in films like "Crimson Tide", for example. Liev Schreiber is another actor who does a good job here, in a character as complex as it is controversial: on the one hand, he's heavily manipulated, but on the other, he seems eager to break the chain that associates him with a controlling and ambitious mother, delightfully performed by the impeccable Meryl Streep. The film also features the honorable participations of Jeffrey Wright and Bruno Ganz, in minor characters that will have their relevance to the story.

Technically, the film doesn't have major flaws: with a very regular and pleasant rhythm, it unfolds gradually and leaving the audience stuck to what they're watching. Cinematography is an essential part of the film's visual beauty and works flawlessly in the low light, cloudy environments and formal and impersonal settings of the offices of high politics. Of course, the costumes help as well, with good military uniforms and a flawless look from Streep (I can see why they said she was inspired by Hillary Clinton). The visuals and special effects do their job, but not too spectacularly.