The Manchurian Candidate is a 2004 American
thriller film based on the 1959 novel
of the same name by
Richard Condon, and a reimagining of the previous
1962 film.
The film stars
Denzel Washington as Bennett Marco, a tenacious, virtuous soldier;
Liev Schreiber as Raymond Shaw, a
U.S. Representative from
New York, manipulated into becoming a
vice-presidential candidate;
Jon Voight as Tom Jordan, a
U.S. Senator and challenger for vice president and
Meryl Streep as Eleanor Prentiss Shaw, also a
senator and the manipulative, ruthless mother of Raymond Shaw.
Plot
Major Bennett "Ben" Marco (Denzel Washington) is a war veteran who begins to doubt what is commonly known about his famous
Army unit. During
Operation Desert Storm, Sergeant First Class Raymond Shaw (
Liev Schreiber) supposedly rescued all but two members in his unit, of which Marco was the commanding officer. This made Shaw a war hero, gained him the
Medal of Honor, and launched him into a career in politics. One of Marco's former NCOs, Corporal Al Melvin (
Jeffrey Wright), contacts him and says that he has had some 'dreams', and mentions himself, Marco, and Shaw inside a big room, with confusing memories of the lost army unit. He is clearly deranged. He also shows Major Marco some images he's drawn from the dreams, including one of a tattooed woman.
The members begin to come together in a
dystopian near-future America defined by
xenophobia, defacto
martial law, environmental degradation, and increasing corporate...
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