re:mote voices

Title: The Manchurian Candidate
Cast: Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber, Jeffrey Wright, Jon Voight
Director: Jonathan Demme

The Manchurian Candidate was a novel which was made into a film in 1962 by John Frankenheimer, which included Frank Sinatra in the cast. For 2004 the film has been updated, in a manner that reminds me of the novel Interface, at least to some degree. Interface was originally published under the name Stephen Bury, but has more recently been published under the names of the two writers who collaborated on it – one of whom is Neal Stephenson. Interface followed a senator who decided to stand for president and then had a stroke. Using new technology a chip was put into his head to repair the brain damage. But in the process this left him open to outside influence, with one man suspecting that something is not right and that he has to take action.

The original Manchurian Candidate was set against the background of the Korea and the Cold War and brainwashing. This version has the core of the first Iraq war and globalisation and brainwashing. Denzel Washington and Liev Schreiber were both in Iraq together when they were caught in an attack from which Schreiber emerges as a hero. Schreiber is now running for Vice President, but Washington has suspicions that what supposedly happened in Iraq didn’t. Leading to the concept of Schreiber having a chip in his head via which he is controlled by the shadowy hand of big business. Putting Washington in the role of the only man who can stop catastrophe...

As a film The Manchurian Candidate is adequate – a glossy, professional piece of work. Which could certainly have been a lot worse, even if it isn’t especially brilliant. The idea that big business is the bad guy is old hat, and in this context comes across in an understated manner – which is to say it is almost negligible. To a degree the same can be said of the evil scientist who has implemented the technology behind the plot; a man who is more reminiscent of a Charlie Kaufman piece like Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Instead Schreiber’s mother comes across as the real villain, Meryl Streep playing her as an over the top, manipulative bitch – who approaches almost cartoon proportions at times.

There is some potential with the whole head games material. Mentioning Kaufman there is enough material in here that it would perhaps have been interesting to see Kaufman’s take on this concept. Instead the nice little visuals they have for these kinds of scenes never really seem to live up to it’s potential. Though one thing that was consistent in living up to it’s potential, and overall striking was the sound track – which I found to be stripped down, atmospheric and memorable; which makes for two Washington films in a row – as Man On Fire also had a memorable soundtrack.