The Manchurian Candidate Review

Back in 1962, Frank Sinatra and Laurence Harvey starred in an almost dystopian thriller which looked at the power of brainwashing and mind control, suggesting such techniques could be used by various nefarious types to get innocent people to do their dirty work. Well skip forward forty odd years and Denzel Washington is trying to separate the fact from the fiction in this superior thriller. The double Oscar-winner plays Major Ben Marco, a Gulf War veteran who had the 'pleasure' of serving alongside all-American hero Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber) when the young Sergeant, who's now in the running to be the next Vice President, made his name by saving his platoon when they came under attack. But as time passes Marco, and various members of the squad - those still alive, that is - start to experience nightmares that suggest all was what not as it seemed on that fateful night.

In pretty much any film that features Denzel Washington, you know you're going to get at least one decent performance and The Manchurian Candidate is no different. The script forces Washington to tread the fine line between suspicion and paranoia and he's more than up to the task while Schreiber is equally impressive as the pawn in a high stakes game run by shady power brokers. As the saying goes, behind every successful man is a strong woman so it should come as no real surprise that the real star of this movie is Meryl Streep, who dominates as Raymond's politico mother. Her Senator has been likened to various female politicians but this incarnation of Eleanor Shaw is a one off and that's all down to Steep's charm, confidence and seemingly unlimited talent. Director Jonathan Demme keeps the pace flowing nicely and, while things do get slightly dragged out a little bit towards the end, your attention is never diverted away from the screen, making this version of The Manchurian Candidate more than worthy of the name.