The Manchurian Candidate review

The most telling aspect of the remake of this political thriller is not that it's every bit as good as the 1962 original but that, more than forty years on, it's as poignant and timely as ever. When Richard Condon wrote the novel on which George Axelrod based the original screenplay, the notion of a global conglomerate brainwashing people for political gain was a little farfetched, but there's no doubting the power some of today's corporations exert on high-ranking politicians is the financial equivalent of brainwashing. Indeed, the dubious motive behind the present conflict in Iraq is precisely the sort of thing Condon's prescient story alluded to.

Director Jonathan Demme's reworking lacks the satirical wit of John Frankenheimer's version, but he has tightened up the original's slack to produce a gripping, thoughtful drama. The cast is just as stellar, with Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep and Liev Schreiber being the equal of their predecessors in the roles: Frank Sinatra, Janet Leigh and Laurence Harvey.

To update the story, certain elements have been changed. The Korean War has become the Gulf War. It is there that Major Ben Marco (Denzel Washington) and his men, including Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), are ambushed. When we next encounter them years later, Shaw has become a two-term senator, thanks to his mother - the domineering Senator Eleanor Shaw (Meryl Streep) - and his heroic war record stemming from the fateful ambush. Marco has fared less well. Suffering from Gulf War Syndrome, he can't sleep and has troubling dreams about the ambush in which two of his men died.

Prompted by an encounter with one of the men from his troop who has also been experiencing dreams that don't tally with official reports of the ambush, Marco begins his own investigation to determine what really happened. What he uncovers is an elaborate plot involving the corporate giant Manchurian Global and Eleanor Shaw to place a puppet leader in the White House. The complex nature of the conspiracy draws all branches of the government into its tangled web, and is abetted by mind-affecting microchips.

The Manchurian Candidate manages to deftly balance its mystery and political components, positing questions, some of which are answered by the film's end while others are left to ponder. The Oscar heavyweights Washington and Streep can always be relied upon to add their authority, and Schreiber's performance will hopefully bring him the recognition his talents deserve. Demme's courage in tackling a remake of what has come to be considered a classic has been rewarded. It'll be interesting to see whether the subject matter will be just as relevant in another forty years.