The Manchurian Candidate

Starring: Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Angela Landsbury, Henry Silva, James Gregory, Leslie Parrish, John McGiver, Khigh Dhiegh, James Edwards
Directed by: John Frankenheimer
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Thriller
1962

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A former soldier (Frank Sinatra) begins to suspect a colleague (Laurence Harvey) was brainwashed into being an unwilling assassin.

Review:

Tim: The Manchurian Candidate is a critically well regarded 1960s thriller. It was nominated for 2 Academy Awards and has retained a strong reputation in the decades since its release. I enjoyed the movie and consider it intelligently directed by John Frankenheimer, but I have to admit I probably like the movie less than most critics. I saw a lot of good things here and very few great ones.

The story itself is definitely a strength. The idea of American soldiers being brainwashed and turned into reluctant, unknowing assassins is frightening and memorable. The human psyche was being explored into greater depths than ever before by the time this movie came around, so it was especially relevant and believable when the film was released. This is a terrific set up and the movie is a great example of Cold War battles being fought.

The brainwashing scenes themselves are astounding and the highlight of the film. The mix of characters, dialogues, the blase and ambivalent attitudes of the hypnotized soldiers, it's all expertly directed. This is the best example of the terrific direction of John Frankenheimer and what he brought to the film. I said there weren't many great aspects of this film, but these scenes are absolutely great. They are the standout.

The rest of the movie felt less effective to me. The movie is a bit too long at 2 hours, 6 minutes. It's a slow boil, but it certainly seems to take its time getting to the conclusion. It felt like the film needed to be edited down- we get a lot of scenes that might develop the characters some, but aren't expressly needed.

I thought Frank Sinatra was good in his role, but I didn't love his performance. Sinatra has always been a bit of an uneven actor for me. At times, he's terrific (The Man With the Golden Arm), and other times less so. I thought he was good here, but he never established an emotional connection with the audience. I liked him because he was Frank Sinatra, but his performance never pulled me in. I didn't really care about his character. Laurence Harvey had a bit of that, too. His performance was among the strongest in the film- he's really good here. However, I didn't care about his character. Some of that might be intentional- he's not the most likable character. Maybe even more problematic was that I was never all that interested in his character. Sure, I was intrigued by what the brainwashing would make him do. But the character itself felt too shallow to me. The fact that Sinatra and Harvey don't give their characters more depth is a big reason why I didn't love the film.

Angela Landsbury, on the other hand, is terrific. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and truly deserved it. Landsbury gives a chilling performance, one with more depth and gravity than her years would suggest possible. It's absolutely one of the highlights of the film. It's telling that when I reflect on the cast, I think of Landsbury's performance before I think of Sinatra or Harvey. Janet Leigh was also great in her supporting role. I do want to separate what she did with her role in the film. Leigh was great, but her character and most of those scenes felt so odd to me. They felt disconnected, jarring. I never fully understood what was supposed to be happening there. I had so many questions that the movie just never seems to answer. On the one hand, this dip into surrealism is fantastic. What the hell is going on with their dialogue? Is she controlling him? The movie might have gotten to greatness had this been explored more. As is, the film seems to forget or ignore this. I kept waiting for a payoff that never came. So, Leigh was great, but her character didn't do her performance justice.

I really liked the performances of John McGiver and Leslie Parrish. I found their scenes among the most memorable and entertaining of the film. They both give strong performances and those scenes are among Harvey's best moments, too. That aspect of the film was a clear strength.

Unfortunately, not all the others live up to these highs. There's some exceptionally strong moments sprinkled throughout this film, but it never coalesces into a great film. That being said, I don't want you to get the wrong idea. The Manchurian Candidate is an incredible influential, important movie. Frankenheimer directs a memorable film that totters between realism and surrealism and delivers a powerful conclusion. This is a well made, entertaining film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



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