The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2004
	Director: Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia)
	Actors: Denzel Washington (Man on Fire, Flight), Liev Schreiber (Scream 1-3, X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Meryl Streep (The Deer Hunter)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 13.10.2017, VOD, 40" TV screen
Synopsis: Back from the Gulf War, members of the same battalion that was made prisoner follow different paths: one to politics (Schreiber), another troubled with dreams (Washington), another one downright crazy, and many die in accidents. But they all have in common the exact same description of their capture, recited by heart to the letter.
Review: This is an interesting mix between a post-war movie (including PTSD and brainwashing, now at the heart of the Homeland TV-series), one with politics and intrigue around the White House, conspiracy theory, big corporations, and investigation. It reminded me a little of the 1990 Jacob's Ladder, and I have just discovered that it is a remake (probably adapted to the taste of the new century) of a 1962 movie with the same title and starring Frank Sinatra and Janet Leigh. Denzel Washington is a good as usual, and I loved the too rare Liev Schreiber that I still have in mind for his role in the Scream franchise. I am not used to watch Meryl Streep acting, but I have to admit she does have a special vibe and plays very well the ambitious mother. All the elements fall in place to keep you hooked to the story until the last moments, including the right amount of twists. All of that shot impeccably (I liked the transitions when the brainwashing is kicking in) by director Jonathan Demme who delivered, if not a classic as The Silence of the Lambs or Philadelphia, a gripping political Thriller nonetheless.
Rating: 6 /10