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The Candidate Reviews
One of the best political movies ever, Superior, knowing satire, So many moments ring true, Stuff that is still relevant today, Anchored by Redford, in one of his best roles, Supported by magnetic, Peter Boyle and a fine supporting cast, I like that a lot of the movie is done almost documentary style, But still has cinematic themes, as visually, we can see Redford being literally overwhelmed by the scope of the campaign as movie progresses,
Spoilers: Proving yet again that every woman, and some men, in America would vote for Robert Redford for president. For life. Or longer. And he knows how to make a bundle on a good movie, like this one. It is politics in big terms and a stab at inside baseball that works even if it isn't verisimilitude. The broad strokes are Democrats even 50 years ago put people first, and Republicans put businessmen and other donors first. The scene in which McKay makes fun of his own repetitive speeches is played so well by Redford, complete with two Nixon-esque "V"ictory hand signs. It shows how personality can unwisely lead any considerations of policy in American politics then and now. The version I just watched cut the best line of the movie when Redford says to Peter Boyle, his veteran campaign manager, "I thought you told me I would lose." And Boyle says, "You did," as if being in the Senate is a loser's game. Did the powers that be lobby for that cut, too anti-establishment? The screenwriter won an Oscar and the documentary-style moving camera made the milieu seem real and full of energy, if not chaos.
an inept, brainless, idealistic film that never convinces for a moment.
A Classic Pollical Drama Comedy. The acing is good across he board by the supporting cast but the real star is Robert Redford who gives a very well done performance. The cinematography is the best thing in this. It is shot in a documentary style with great gritty real shots and will switch to grand scale rallies and gatherings effortlessly. Despite the settings being normal and bland there is a huge variety of different locations in this as well that are all memorable. The music is the one weak spot here. It is a mix of patriotic/generic music score and it has an identity it never sounds memorable or catchy. The editing and pacing are very well done in this. The only complaints with those elements is the first 15 minutes can feel a bit uneven because your not sure if the Political consultant or McKay is the main character and it struggles to put a basic story together at times in a cohesive way. Also during the middle of the film while it is well done it can sometimes be a little to long. The Pacing over really is well done though as it is a slow but steady build up throughout. The comedy is very witty also and pretty much hit every time as well. This is a great character study in the changes of how candidates are elected, the value of electing officials, and asks just because someone wins an election does that make them a good politician also? Anyone who is a fan of political films, 70's films, Redford, or the director should give this a watch for sure.
Watch Redford as vacuous candidate as runs today and ever. These pols don't say anything but the same talking points over and over and over again. If the points sounds good, keep saying it. I'm almost surprised such a movie ever got made. Best scene: Redford in the back of a limo babbling and mixing up words as even he realizes how empty such words are. And of course the final scene: "what do we do now?"
Has any other political drama aged better than The Candidate? Has any other film captured the ability of politics to grind down the idealist and stem the flow of progress better? Perhaps not.
I was shown this in social studies class in my senior year in high school decades ago. The liberal teacher used the movie to teach us how real-life political candidates are developed, and he asked us questions such as whether debates were truly useful except as publicizing candidates. The story itself: Bill McKay, son of a former machine politician governor of California, is talked into running for the Democratic candidate for U. S. Senator by a campaign manager who has just come off a losing election of another candidate. The manager expects McKay to lose anyway, so he tells McKay to say whatever he wants since it won't make any difference. But as the campaign goes on, the supposedly strong incumbent is vulnerable after all, and McKay wins the Democratic primary, and there is a serious chance McKay could really win the election. No longer can he just say what his beliefs are; he now has to draw in more voters who don't want a strong liberal. Solution: McKay has to be much more vague in answering questions (as directed by his managers), and to give generalized platitudes even his campaign team laugh at. He talks about unity and solving problems-but at the same time fails to tell the public what he intends to do about them. He wins anyway-and is confused as to what to do once he has the job. While it is true that an empty suit can win an election (look at who our current President is), the movie's inherent problem is that the movie doesn't really give a reason that McKay should have won over the incumbent. Longtime incumbents normally lose if demographics change greatly or if they alienate their constituency in some way; the movie depicts nothing of the sort. Also, McKay shows little enthusiasm for running throughout the whole campaign; surely there are others who would have wanted the spot instead? Still, if nothing else, the best part of the story was where the campaign manager is told to take a chair-and he does so, literally.
Pretty good political Drama-Comedy from 1972. It still holds up with today's political landscape. Nice Performance by the great Robert Redford and Peter Boyle is nice in his supporting role. It has one of those endings where it just ends and left me shrugging my shoulders.
The best comedy movie ever made!
Bill Mccay is prepositioned by a political analyst to stand against a Republican elective who is such a sure-shot guarantee that other established democrats are refusing to run against him. Mccay being young, handsome and idealistic is chosen to lessen the blow according to the analyst. Mccay enters the challenge hoping to impart his message to the masses- regardless of the outcome. Unfortunately, he is found to be too good and ends up winning the election. This is a great comedy drama in the political realm and Robert Redford is excellent as the handsome idealistic Mccay. The film has garnered much acclaim since release and if you enjoy a good political movie then the Candidate is a fine choice. (A great turn by the handsome Redford as a young candidate).
Bill Mccay is prepositioned by a political analyst to stand against a Republican elective who is such a sure-shot guarantee that other established democrats are refusing to run against him. Mccay being young, handsome and idealistic is chosen to lessen the blow according to the analyst. Mccay enters the challenge hoping to impart his message to the masses- regardless of the outcome. Unfortunately, he is found to be too good and ends up winning the election. This is a great comedy drama in the political realm and Robert Redford is excellent as the handsome idealistic Mccay. The film has garnered much acclaim since release and if you enjoy a good political movie then the Candidate is a fine choice.(A great turn by the handsome Redford as a young candidate).
Bill Mccay is prepositioned by a political analyst to stand against a Republican elective who is such a sure-shot guarantee that other established democrats are refusing to run against him. Mccay being young, handsome and idealistic is chosen to lessen the blow according to the analyst. Mccay enters the challenge hoping to impart his message to the masses- regardless of the outcome. Unfortunately, he is found to be too good and ends up winning the election. This is a great comedy drama in the political realm and Robert Redford is excellent as the handsome idealistic Mccay. The film has garnered much acclaim since release and if you enjoy a good political movie then the Candidate is a fine choice.(A great turn by the handsome Redford as a young candidate).
The Candidate becomes too predictable for its own good but it nonetheless is an entertaining political drama that contains plenty of sharp commentary.
Bill Mccay is prepositioned by a political analyst to stand against a Republican elective who is such a sure-shot guarantee that other established democrats are refusing to run against him. Mccay being young, handsome and idealistic is chosen to lessen the blow according to the analyst. Mccay enters the challenge hoping to impart his message to the masses- regardless of the outcome. Unfortunately, he is found to be too good and ends up winning the election. This is a great comedy drama in the political realm and Robert Redford is excellent as the handsome idealistic Mccay. The film has garnered much acclaim since release and if you enjoy a good political movie then the Candidate is a fine choice.
It's just like watching real life election coverage. In other words...boring.
One of the worst movies I've ever seen. ?? The cuts were all just spliced together. The camera shots were random and unfinished. Lots of unimportant thing stuck in. Not a good movie. Also, the main character was wrong on all points. But even if I completely agreed with him, it still wouldn't make this a good movie. I've watched a few of Robert Redford movies lately and loved them, (All the President's Men and Three Days of The Condore) so I thought this was going to be good too. But alas, no. It's worth your time or money for a badly made film.
The Candidate is a fine film, just not one that feels fully complete. Practically shot documentary-style, The Candidate features a stirring lead performance from Robert Redford as an honest, well meaning political candidate who has no chance to win, so who cares what he says? The film may be fourty years old, but obviously applies heavily to today and is more than worth a watch if you enjoy political films or ones that satirize them. The film can become quite claustrophobic and chaotic at times, which for me, resulted in the sound being so hard to hear it was grating. Not sure if it was the stream or what, but anyways, the film does a good job creating tension through that as you feel the walls closing in around our candidate. The film can also be quite funny at times, but again, these do not amount to as good of a film as it could have been because it simply felt far too distant and practically incomplete. That said, I did enjoy The Candidate, even if it did not live up to my expectations.