by Frank Calvillo
Box Office Alternative Column
Box Office Alternative is a weekly look into additional/optional choices to the big-budget spectacle opening up at your local movie theater every Friday. Oftentimes, titles will consist of little-known or underappreciated work from the same actor/writer/director/producer of said new release, while at other times, the selection for the week just happens to touch upon the same subject in a unique way. Above all, this is a place to revisit and/or discover forgotten cinematic gems of all kinds.
I love the fact that movies like Ricki and the Flash exist, especially in the summertime. In the land of tentpoles, the major studios tend to forget that some audiences (mature or not), crave simple films about story and characterization rather than some grandiose thrill ride.
In Ricki and the Flash, Meryl Streep and director Jonathan Demme bring to life Diablo Cody’s script about a woman (Streep) who gave up her roles as wife and mother to pursue her dreams of rock-n-roll stardom.
There isn’t much doubt that Ricki and the Flash will find its audience, leading to another success for both Streep and Demme. Part of the reason I’m betting on the duo’s film is because of the strength of their first collaboration; the 2004 political thriller The Manchurian Candidate.
The Manchurian Candidate centers on Bennett Marco (Denzel Washington), a former Army Captain who led his command through harrowing experiences during the Gulf War. Years later, Marco finds himself plagued by unexplainable dreams which include brainwashing, torture and murder. In order to prove whether these dreams are true or not, Marco must track down a former Sergeant under his command named Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), who is being touted as the next Vice President of the United States, while remaining under the intensely watchful eye of his powerful Senator mother Eleanor (Meryl Streep).
For those few who don’t know, The Manchurian Candidate is a remake of a 1962 version starring Frank Sinatra and Angela Lansbury. The film was an Oscar-nominated classic, garnering lots of critical acclaim and a reputation so strong, that no one ever thought a remake would be possible. Yet the filmmakers have so successfully made The Manchurian Candidate their own film that all memories of the original immediately fade away.
The reason The Manchurian Candidate works so well is because it’s completely about the modern era it’s set in. The “Manchurian” in the title refers to Manchurian Global, a multi-billion dollar corporation hell bent on making Raymond the first privately owned Vice President in history. Besides paying for Raymond’s campaign, Manchurian Global also proves responsible for a series of brainwashing experiments done on Raymond during his time in the Gulf War thus turning him into the first truly controlled politician/sleeper in the white house. The idea of political hopefuls being backed by large corporations and private millionaires has become tradition, yet The Manchurian Candidate takes that kind of practice to the extreme like no other.
There’s no other director who could have brought The Manchurian Candidate to life like Demme. After winning an Oscar for The Silence of the Lambs and helming the likes of Married to the Mob and Philadelphia, Demme became well-versed in crafting films which satisfied both critically and commercially. Here, all of the touches which have become the director’s trademarks brilliantly add flair and vitality to The Manchurian Candidate. There’s the assortment of recognizable character actors which populate all his films, the sleek look he gives to every scene, the stark close-ups which can intimately reveal a character’s essence, and the subtle, yet piercing overall approach, which gets to the heart of every film Demme makes.
As plot driven as the film is, The Manchurian Candidate still proves to be a true acting showcase.
Washington gives a committed performance as the Army Captain trying to piece together a nightmare that just may be a reality, and his descent into paranoia is nothing short of spectacular. Schreiber is equally captivating as a struggling puppet on a string trying to regain control of himself.
There’s also great supporting work from Jon Voight, Kimberly Elise (her best role to date), Jeffrey Wright and Vera Farmiga. Yet none match the grandness of Streep’s performance.
As Senator Eleanor Shaw, Streep has literally brought a monster to the screen. With her short brown hair, stylist-appointed wardrobe and biting speeches, Streep’s Eleanor is a hurricane of political aspiration and sharp manipulation. The almost inhuman desire for political gain, coupled with her unnervingly strong hold on Raymond make this the most terrifying character of the actress’ long and varied career.
Maybe if The Manchurian Candidate had come out during the fall of that election year, its box office take would have been greater. But as it stood, the critically acclaimed film had to settle for a lousy July release, causing it to lose out on the profitable run it could have had and the awards acclaim it might have enjoyed (although Streep was nominated for a Golden Globe for her work).
The Manchurian Candidate was enough for Demme to swear off big-budget studio films for a while as a result of the film’s pressure to succeed. However, as a still-prevalent document of the way politicians are elected, a nightmarish tale of paranoia and yet another reminder of Streep’s power on the screen, The Manchurian Candidate remains a crowning achievement.