Great Film: The Manchurian Candidate
Excellent Cinema
I went into "The Manchurian Candidate" without knowing too much about the
movie itself. I knew about its critical acclaim, but I was unfamiliar with
the plot. Regardless, when I rented and watched the film, I had high
expectations. I was not disappointed either.
The plot revolves around the strange case of Raymond Shaw, a sergeant who
wins the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery in the cold war. Two
of the men in his company, however, have strange nightmares that suggest
Raymond is not as deserving of the award as he seems. One of these men,
Major Bennet Marco, led on by these recurring nightmares, unravels a
sinister Communist plot. Set against the cold war paranoia of the sixties
and McCarthyism, "The Manchurian Candidate" does an excellent job of
recreating the intense suspense and tension of the time.
The acting in this film is superb. A great script is heightened by
excellent
acting in this movie. It's hard not to like Frank Sinatra in his role as
Marco, who is the protagonist. Laurence Harvey as Raymond does a good job
showing us a character that is wholly unlikable and snobby, yet pathetic
and
sad at the same time. And of course, Angela Lansbury in her role as
Raymond's malicious and plotting mother is excellent.
Some stand-out scenes in the film were the nightmare sequences that
brilliantly interlaced dream and reality, the all-queen solitaire game
with
Marco and Raymond, and the supremely tense climax at the political
convention. The cinematography in the movie was very well done as action,
romance, and tension all mixed together smoothly. All the scenes managed
to
keep my attention and kept me wondering what was going to happen next. As
a
thriller, the film works remarkably well, and it is quite easily the best
political thriller I've seen to date.
Keeping me from giving the movie a perfect ten are one or two little
nagging
problems. I wasn't a big fan of the music for the movie, and it even
disrupted the mood for me at one point in the film. It was okay, just not
great. Also, the whole plot is sort of unlikely. I wont go into it here,
but
I don't think that the Communist plan for world domination would fall into
the hands of one relatively uncontrolled person, no matter how well
trained
his mind was. That's just my opinion, however.
The movie is sort of long, and isn't exactly action packed, but it is very
interesting, insightful, and even chilling. I had a great time watching
it,
and I definitely recommend it if you are interested at all in seeing a
gripping Cold War era political thriller. Besides, the cultural relevance
of
the film alone is enough to see it.
9/10
Cast
- Mrs. Iselin played by Angela Lansbury
- Raymond Shaw played by Laurence Harvey
- Eugenie Rose Chaney played by Janet Leigh
- Maj. Bennett Marco played by Frank Sinatra
- Chunjin played by Henry Silva
- Sen. John Yerkes Iselin played by James Gregory
- Jocelyn Jordan played by Leslie Parrish
