The Manchurian Candidate

Though unquestionably an above-average contemporary remake, The Manchurian Candidate‘s effectiveness is ultimately hindered by its distinctly uneven structure and occasional emphasis on less-than-enthralling elements. Director Jonathan Demme’s expectedly stark sense of style certainly proves instrumental in drawing the viewer into the unquestionably familiar story, however, while screenwriters Daniel Pyne and Dean Georgaris do a nice job of sporadically deviating from the trajectory of John Frankenheimer’s 1962 classic (ie there are more than a few surprises here for fans of the original). Denzel Washington stars as Ben Marco, a troubled Gulf War veteran who becomes convinced that something sinister happened to his military squadron during a pivotal mission – with fellow officer Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber) eventually becoming the focus of Ben’s increasingly desperate inquiry. The deliberateness with which The Manchurian Candidate initially moves effectively establishes an eerie, distinctly off-kilter atmosphere, although – admittedly – it subsequently does take a while before one is completely drawn into the proceedings. There’s little doubt, however, that the whole thing improves considerably as it progresses, with the slow-but-steady reveal of the story’s mystery/conspiracy playing a key role in the film’s ultimate success. The uniformly strong performances also merit mentioning, as Demme has elicited some seriously impressive work from leading and supporting cast members alike (Jeffrey Wright, in what essentially amounts to a cameo, is particularly effective here). The end result is that rare remake that manages to retain many of its predecessor’s best qualities without sacrificing its own identity in the process, which – as we’ve come to discover in recent years – is a very rare feat indeed.

*** out of ****