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The Candidate | Year: 1972 Classification: Drama Directed: - Michael Ritchie Actors/Actresses: - Robert Redford - Peter Boyle Engrossing if flawed The late Michael Ritchie was a criminally underrated director and 1972's The Candidate remains probably his best known film. Designed to serve as a primer for liberal political candidates, The Candidate tells the story of Bill McKay (Robert Redford), a young activist lawyer who is recruited by a slightly sleazy campaign manager (Peter Boyle) to run for the U.S. Senate against a conservative Republican incumbent (Don Porter, better known as Gidget's Dad). After overcoming his initial hesitations, McKay becomes a committed candidate and finds himself losing his identity in the process. Written by a former speechwriter for Eugene McCarthy, the film serves as a strongly realistic look at the state of modern political campaigning and, in typical '70s manner, is surprisingly downbeat. Redford gives one of his better performances, actually allowing himself to portray a character that some viewers may be surprised to discover they have ambigous feelings towards. His performance in this film (and other films from this period) stands in sharp contrast to the golden boys he's been concentrating on for the last few decades. Amongst the supporting cast, strong turns are given by Boyle and Melvyn Douglas as Redford's father -- a former Governor. Don Porter, on the other hand, is a tad obvious as the Republican Senator. While its reasonable to assume that Porter's buffoon is the way Hollywood liberals like Ritchie and Redford realistically view conservative Republicans, it hard to take such an obvious clown seriously as an opponent and, unfortunately, this detracts from the overall effectiveness of the film. Ritchie later said he regretted not exploring more of McKay's family life and, with the exception of the scenes between McKay and his father, the film does, at times, come across as a bit cold and unemotional. McKay's wife is barely a presence in the film and one never really knows how she feels about his campaign. Still, its a frequently funny, always fascinating, realistic look at how we elect our government and, in many ways, it was a prophetic film. 1974 would see a huge slew of liberals in the Bill McKay model elected to the U.S. Senate and the character of McKay was supposedly modeled on two of the more succesful California Democrats of the '70s -- Sen. John Tunney and Gov. Jerry Brown. After watching this film, one can't help but wonder what lay ahead for McKay -- as he himself asked, "What now?" Would he be able to survive the sudden drastic turn in the nation's political sentiments just eight years later or would he find himself swept away like Tunney and Brown? CULT MOVIES 12 12. THE CANDIDATE (drama, 1972) Lawyer Bill McKaye (Robert Redford) heads his own public law firm. He's an idealistic man who comes from a wealthy-political family. Marvin Lucas (Peter Boyle) heads a political committee looking for a 'young, fresh face' to go up against the present Senator of California, Croker Jarmon (an old And experienced war-horse). Lucas believes that McKaye has the potential to upset the Senator in the next elections. Though McKaye he hates the political arena (one of the reasons he drifted from his father, who was once governor), Lucas convinces him, telling him that he has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Setting up a McKaye committee, Lucas sets out to shape McKaye into a political weapon. His rise (though not meteoric) is nonetheless slowly felt in the polls. Becoming a surprising contender, he thinks about quitting (scared at the thought of winning). Nevertheless, Lucas tells him its too late, since the finish line is close. With the campaign taking a toll on his homelife, his decision is a difficult one. Critique: Serio-documentary, The Candidate is one of those films that should be shown to students seeking a political career. Its precise depiction of a normal person into a beauracratic tool is almost too real. Director Michael Ritche recreates the sometimes absurd, complicated and superficial world of political inner workings to perfection. Robert Redford is also perfect as a 'wholesome', naïve underdog champion (you can almost feel a JFK-esque aura around him). The film's wonderful parades and interviews further reinforce the sense of a documentary. An excellently written, 'illuminating' experience. QUOTE: Pete: "I saw something up there tonight. Believe me this is effective. You can do it, you can go all the way. Look, you and I know this is all bull, but the point is they'll believe In it." EXCELLENT POLITICAL FLICK Robert Redford was behind the entertaining political movie "The Candidate" (1972), which goes a long way towards explaining how the game works. This film is really not a liberal one, which is what makes it worthwhile even after 30 years. It is supposed to be based on Edmund "Jerry" Brown, former California Governor Pat Brown's son. Jerry Brown at the time was a youthful Secretary of State who would go one to two terms as Governor. He was a new kind of pol, attractive, a bit of swinger who dated rock star Linda Rohnstadt, and representative of the Golden State image of the 1970s. They called him "Governor Moonbeam".<BR>Redford plays the son of the former Governor of California, played by Melvyn Douglas. The old man is old school all the way, having schmoozed his way up the slippery slope through implied corrupt deals with labor unions and other Democrat special interests. Redford is a young man who played football at Stanford and is now a social issues lawyer of the pro bono variety, helping Mexicans in Central California. Peter Boyle knew him at Stanford and is now a Democrat political consultant who recruits Redford to run for Senator against Crocker Jarman, an entrenched conservative Orange County Republican. Jarman could be Reagan, but he is as much a composite of the traditional Republican: Strong on defense, down on affirmative action and welfare, a real "up by the bootstraps" guy who emerged from the Depression and World War II to make up our "greatest generation."<BR>The film does an about-face on perceptions that, in many cases, turn out to be true. Redford is the rich kid with connections. Jarman beat the Depression like the rest of the U.S., without a social worker. <BR>"How did we do it?" he mocks. <BR>Redford's film wife is played by Karen Carlson, pure eye candy (but what happened to her career I cannot say?). She has ambitions of her own, and pushes him to do it because he has the "power," an undefined sexual charisma of the JFK variety. Redford plays a caricature of himself, handsome but considered an empty suit. His deal is he can say any outrageous thin ans of Bette Davis and/or Cockney people, 'Of Human Bondage' is a grossly overrated, undeserved classic. Avoid like the plague. Buy The Candidate at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The Candidate Search with the Priority Search Engine on The Candidate This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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