''The Manchurian Candidate'' is a 2004 American

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by Jonathan Demme. The film, based on

Richard Condon Richard Thomas Condon (March 18, 1915 – April 9, 1996) was an American political novelist. Though his works were satire, they were generally transformed into thrillers or semi-thrillers in other media, such as cinema. All 26 books were writte ...

's 1959 novel of the same name and a reworking of the previous 1962 film, stars Denzel Washington as Bennett Marco, a tenacious, virtuous soldier,

Liev Schreiber Isaac Liev Schreiber (; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and narrator. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywo ...

as Raymond Shaw, a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from New York, manipulated into becoming a vice-presidential candidate,

Jon Voight Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. He came to prominence in the late 1960s with his Academy Award–nominated performance as Joe Buck, a would-be gigolo, in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969). During the 1970s, h ...

as U.S. Senator Tom Jordan, a challenger for Vice President, and

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

as Eleanor Prentiss Shaw, also a U.S. Senator and the manipulative, ruthless mother of Raymond Shaw. While the name of the novel and the earlier film was retained, the significance of "Manchurian" was changed. In the original, the protagonist was captured in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and brainwashed by the Chinese in the actual

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

. In the 2004 film, with the Korean War replaced by the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

, ''Manchurian'' is used, instead, as the name of a sinister multinational company.

Plot

Major Bennett Marco commanded a famous

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

unit during a Gulf War raid in 1991. For his role in that mission, Sergeant First Class Raymond Shaw was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

for single-handedly defeating the enemy and rescuing all but two of his men. By 2008, the U.S. has become dominated by

xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

, ''de facto''

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

, environmental degradation, and increasing corporate influence; Shaw is a famous U.S. congressman. His ruthless mother,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Senator Eleanor Prentiss Shaw, uses her influence to secure his nomination as a vice-presidential candidate over the favorite, Senator Tom Jordan. Raymond is shy and withdrawn, but opens up to his mother and his childhood sweetheart Jocelyn, Senator Jordan's daughter. Al Melvin, one of Marco's former soldiers, tells Marco of his confusing memories and dreams about their lost army unit. Though clearly mentally ill, he shows Marco his drawings of images from his dreams. Soon, Marco also dreams of the raid, where Raymond and he are captured and brainwashed to kill members of their platoon. Their captors included scientists led by a mysterious South African man. Marco starts investigating what really happened. He travels to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

: on the train he meets an outgoing supermarket clerk who had already identified him earlier, named Eugenie or Rosie. She offers him a place to stay in New York. While showering at Eugenie's apartment, Marco feels a small lump on his upper back. He uses a knife to dig at the spot, and pulls out a tiny metallic object, but accidentally drops it down the bathroom sink drain after Eugenie, having listened to Marco's subtle sounds of distress, forces her way inside. Marco confronts Raymond at campaign headquarters, wrestles him down, and bites into his back in an attempt to remove the same implant he suspects is there. He has the implant analyzed and finds it is a nanotechnological experiment connected with Manchurian Global, a powerful private-equity firm with major political connections including Raymond's mother Senator Pritchett. Researching the firm, Marco recognizes the South African man from his nightmares as a South African geneticist-turned-mercenary Dr. Atticus Noyle. He brings his findings to Senator Jordan, who confronts the Shaws and suggests that Raymond withdraw from the campaign. Instead, Eleanor "activates" Raymond and orders him to kill Jordan. Jocelyn is also killed when she tries to stop Raymond. Marco suspects he's been followed, and when Marco tries to confront Rosie, she reveals she works for the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI), which has been monitoring the conspiracy for years. Having found an implant in Melvin, who—like all of Raymond and Marco's squadmates—died mysteriously, the FBI arranges a meeting between Marco and Raymond to convince them they were brainwashed under an assassination plot, which takes place just as Governor Arthur and Raymond win the White House. Raymond receives a phone call intended for Marco from Eleanor, who is deeply linked with Manchurian. Using trigger words, she commands Marco to assassinate the

President-elect An ''officer-elect'' is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a ''president-elect'' (e.g. president-elect of the Unit ...

so that Raymond can become President and admits that she voluntarily gave him to the brainwashers for the country's benefit, but Raymond resists the mind-control techniques, empowered by Jocelyn's death. At the climactic moment, Raymond deliberately places himself between the entranced Marco and the President-elect. As Eugenie rushes through the crowd to find Marco, Raymond looks at the vent where Marco is hiding and nods as a signal to kill the President-elect. Raymond dances with his mother and steers them into the marked position, where Marco kills them both with a single rifle shot. Marco prepares to kill himself, but after seeing Raymond's nod, Eugenie arrives and prevents his suicide by wounding him. The FBI frames a deceased Manchurian Global contractor as the shooter. Manchurian executives watch their entire conspiracy revealed on television, but do not attempt to flee. Eugenie takes Marco to the remote island compound where he was conditioned. After reflecting on his time there, Marco drops a photo of his Army unit and Raymond's Medal of Honor into the sea.

Cast

* Denzel Washington as Major Bennett Marco *

as Senator Eleanor Prentiss Shaw *

as Congressman Raymond Prentiss Shaw *

as Senator Thomas Jordan *

Kimberly Elise Kimberly Elise Trammel (born April 17, 1967) is an American film and television actress. She made her feature film debut in '' Set It Off'' (1996), and later received critical acclaim for her performance in ''Beloved'' (1998). During her career, ...

as Eugenie Rose * Vera Farmiga as Jocelyn Jordan * Jeffrey Wright as Corporal Al Melvin *

Simon McBurney Simon Montagu McBurney (born 25 August 1957) is an English actor, playwright, and theatrical director. He is the founder and artistic director of the Théâtre de Complicité, London. He has had roles in the films '' The Manchurian Candidate'' ...

as Atticus Noyle *

Bruno Ganz Bruno Ganz (; 22 March 1941 – 16 February 2019) was a Swiss actor whose career in German stage, television and film productions spanned nearly 60 years. He was known for his collaborations with the directors Werner Herzog, Éric Rohmer, Franc ...

as Delp * Adam LeFevre as Congressman Healy *

Ann Dowd Ann Dowd (born January 30, 1956) is an American actress. She has played supporting roles in numerous films, including ''Green Card'' (1990), ''Lorenzo's Oil'' (1992), ''Philadelphia'' (1993), '' Garden State'' (2004), '' The Manchurian Candidate' ...

as Congresswoman Beckett *

Ted Levine Frank Theodore Levine (born May 29, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Buffalo Bill in the film '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991) and Leland Stottlemeyer in the television series ''Monk'' (2002–2009). Le ...

as Lieutenant Colonel Howard *

Miguel Ferrer Miguel José Ferrer (February 7, 1955 – January 19, 2017) was an American actor. His breakthrough role was as Bob Morton in the 1987 film ''RoboCop''. Other film roles include Quigley in '' Blank Check'' (1994), Harbinger in ''Hot Shots! Part D ...

as Colonel Garret *

Dean Stockwell Robert Dean Stockwell (March 5, 1936 – November 7, 2021) was an American actor with a career spanning seven decades. As a child actor under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he first came to the public's attention in films including ''Anchors A ...

as Mark Whiting * Charles Napier as Lieutenant General Sloan *

Jude Ciccolella Richard Jude Ciccolella (born November 30, 1947) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for playing Mike Novick in the television series '' 24'' from 2001 to 2006. Life and career Ciccolella was born in Burlington, Vermont, and spen ...

as David Donovan * Tom Stechschulte as Governor Robert "Bob" Arthur *

Pablo Schreiber Pablo Tell Schreiber (born April 26, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is best known for his stage work and for portraying Nick Sobotka on ''The Wire'' (2003), William Lewis on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2013–2014), Mad S ...

as PFC Eddie Ingram *

Anthony Mackie Anthony Dwane Mackie (born September 23, 1978) is an American actor. Mackie made his acting debut starring in the semi-biographical drama film '' 8 Mile'' (2002). He was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor for his pe ...

as PFC Robert Baker III *

Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...

as Laurence Tokar *

Obba Babatundé Obba Babatundé (born Donald Cohen; December 1, 1951) is an American actor. A native of Queens, New York City, he has appeared in more than seventeen stage productions, thirty theatrical films, sixty made-for-television films, and two prime-time ...

as Senator Wells *

Željko Ivanek Željko Ivanek (né Šimić-Ivanek; ; ; born August 15, 1957) is an American actor, known for his role as Ray Fiske on '' Damages'', for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award. Ivanek is also known for his role of Ed Danvers on '' Homicide: Life on ...

as Vaughn Utly *

John Bedford Lloyd John Bedford Lloyd (born January 2, 1956) is an American character actor. Life and career Lloyd was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Ann Storrs Lloyd and Edward B. Lloyd of Southport, Connecticut. His father was an architect. He has a s ...

as Jay "J.B." Johnston ;Cameos *

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...

as a reporter * Sidney Lumet as a political pundit *

Anna Deavere Smith Anna Deavere Smith is an American actress, playwright, and professor. She is known for her roles as National Security Advisor Dr. Nancy McNally in '' The West Wing'' (2000–06), hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus in the Showtime series ''N ...

as a political pundit * Roy Blount Jr. as a political pundit * Fred Brathwaite as a political pundit *

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

as the Secretary of State * Beau Sia (on a TV screen) as a presenter *

Gayle King Gayle King (born December 28, 1954) is an American television personality, author and broadcast journalist for CBS News, co-hosting its flagship morning program, '' CBS Mornings'', and before that its predecessor ''CBS This Morning''. She is ...

(on a TV screen) as a presenter

Production

Tina Sinatra was a co-producer of the film. Her father Frank Sinatra portrayed Marco in the original 1962 film and owned that film's legal distribution rights into the late 1980s, never re-releasing it during that time (although it did air on network television several times). In the original, nationally released during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the premise was based on communists taking control; in this remake, big corporate influence serves as the evil faction, a twist to maintain the "Manchurian connection". The remake does not follow the original film's plot details on several occasions.

Reception

Box office

''The Manchurian Candidate'' was released July 30, 2004, alongside '' Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle'', '' Thunderbirds'', & '' The Village.'' The film grossed $65,955,630 in North America and $30,150,334 in other territories, totaling $96,105,964 worldwide.

Critical response

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has a "Certified Fresh" 80% rating, based on 207 reviews, with an average rating of 7.11/10. The site's consensus reads, "While not the classic its predecessor is, this update is well-acted and conjures a chilling resonance".

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 76, based on 41 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Mick LaSalle Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form ( hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broad ...

of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'' wrote of Streep, "No one can talk about the acting in ''The Manchurian Candidate'' without rhapsodizing about Streep (in the role originated by

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

). She has the Hillary hair and the

Karen Hughes Karen Parfitt Hughes (born December 27, 1956) is the global vice chair of the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller. She served as the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of State and as ...

attack-dog energy, but the charm, the inspiration, and the constant invention are her own. She gives us a senator who's a

monomania In 19th-century psychiatry, monomania (from Greek , one, and , meaning "madness" or "frenzy") was a form of partial insanity conceived as single psychological obsession in an otherwise sound mind. Types Monomania may refer to: * De Clerambaul ...

c, a mad mommy and master politician rolled into one, a woman firing on so many levels that no one can keep up – someone who loves being evil as much as Streep loves acting. She's a pleasure to watch and to marvel at every second she's onscreen."

Accolades

References

External links

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Manchurian Candidate 2004 films 2000s spy films 2000s thriller films Remakes of American films American political thriller films Films directed by Jonathan Demme Films about assassinations Films about elections Films about fictional presidents of the United States Films about mind control Films about veterans Films based on American novels Films based on mystery novels Films about hypnosis Films about altered memories Films produced by Scott Rudin Films scored by Rachel Portman Films set in New York City Films set in 2008 Films set in the future Films shot in Jacksonville, Florida Incest in film Paramount Pictures films Films about the United States Army Films about nanotechnology American neo-noir films Films about mother–son relationships 2000s English-language films 2000s American films