Jonathan Demme makes a living bringing creativity to Hollywood. And he barely squeaks by doing it. I’m not about to deny that he is a great director; he is one of my favorites, in fact. But that’s not to say that he doesn’t engage in risky business of all kinds, as a filmmaker. For the most part, mainstream audiences cannot appreciate anything deeper than surface value, and Demme’s films offer more than that. His career is clearly in a period of decline; his recent effort, The Truth about Charlie, bombed explosively, despite its high quality. But, the fact that he still can bring art into multiplexes is unavoidable. Back in 1991, he shocked everyone with The Silence of the Lambs, and even though his latest projects aren’t in the same league as it, they’re still good. His new update of The Manchurian Candidate is no exception; it’s a smart and surprising thriller. Much has changed since Frank Sinatra took the screen, in the 1962 version of the film, and I think it’s for the better. As well-done and nail-biting as the story may have been may have been, this picture is far more engaging, if less eye-opening.

     In the original Manchurian Candidate, several troops in the Vietnam War were brainwashed by a group of Asians, called the Manchurians. Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), who they were hypnotized to take for a war hero, was in their convoy. The man who basically acted as Raymond’s father, providing for him, in essence, was running for president at the time. It was later discovered that his mother was in on the Manchurians’ plan, and was using it, in order to ensure Raymond’s “father’s” position in the White House. However, in the end, her idea of security went desperately, and the director of The Manchurian Candidate, John Frankenheimer, was hailed for fashioning one of the most unpredictable conclusions in the history of film.

     In this update of the story, the chain of events remains just as jaw-dropping, but times have changed. Instead of a racial group, the term Manchurian refers to a corporation called Manchurian Global, who Raymond’s mother has stricken many deals with, on the campaign. Denzel Washington plays Ben Marco, another one of the brainwashed soldiers. He discovers what has happened, acting on he and his fellow ex-fighters’ suspicious dreams about the crime, and tries as hard as he can to stop the ensuing events. This time, though, scientists control Ben and Raymond through computer chips. The game of solitaire, which heavily impacted The First’s plot, is nowhere to be found.

     Here, Raymond is the Vice Presidential Candidate of a team that will win the election by a landslide. But, his mother (now played by Meryl Streep), still has more than a few tricks up her sleeve, with the help of Manchurian Global. Demme clearly hates big corporations, and makes several allusions to the current government in this flick, but it is so well done, it’s hard to critique his efforts on the basis of his flawed politics. He strays from the liberal grounds that Michael Moore walks, and usually just aspires to make an effective thriller. And, that, he certainly does.

     One of the more questionable aspects of Demme’s re-working of The Manchurian Candidate is writers Daniel Pyne and Dean Georgaris’ changing of many of the characters’ personality traits. Raymond Shaw has, basically, the same thinking-process here, but the rest of the parts have been drastically changed. Meryl Streep, for example, is very different in the role of his mother, Eleanor, than Angela Lansbury. The earlier actress came off as simply manipulating, whereas Streep superiorly captures cold hearted evil. Should I care that she’s a conservative, like me? No. Just that she goes down like a bitch. One could say that Demme is simply stereotyping big-business supporters, but I think that he’s simply showing us one-note cold-heartedness, and it works damn well, at that.

     Washington’s character, Ben, has also been altered quite a bit from Sinatra’s version, and isn’t quite as effective. However, the experienced actor does what he needs to do to allow the plot to move on in its new form. After all, if he had simply created a carbon copy of Sinatra, wouldn’t it have boring, in addition to more technically proficient? I, personally, prefer entertaining goodness to dull greatness, so I’ll welcome the actor’s contemporary interpretation of Ben, warmly.

     In 1962, The Manchurian Candidate drew profound parallels to the political administration of its time period, and it still works on such a level, today. It offered intelligence, in addition to the mandatory thrills. This remake is light on the former and heavy on the latter, but it still confronts some current issues that are worthy of discussion (even if I do not agree with its opinion on them). But, a riveting film is a riveting film, and The Manchurian Candidate falls into this category. It’s quite an impressive “re-imagining” from quite an impressive director. Who could ask for anything more?

-Danny, Bucket Reviews (8.4.2004)

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