‘Candidate’ works too hard to update a classic

If you cherish a favorite moment from John Frankenheimer’s 1962 classic, “The Manchurian Candidate,” don’t expect to see it recreated in Jonathan Demme’s watchable but less-than-satisfying update/remake.

Gone is the anti-Communist hysteria that drove the plot of the original — and the Richard Condon novel that inspired it. Gone are the sinister packs of playing cards that lead brainwashed ex-soldiers to folly. Gone is the title character too. He’s been dead for years when the movie begins with a 1991 battle in the Kuwait desert.

Quick facts Starring: Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber, Meryl Streep, Kimberly Elise, Jon Voight Director: Jonathan Demme Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes MPAA rating: R

Demme’s version might as well be called “The Halliburton Candidate.” “Manchurian” no longer refers to a foreign province; it’s the name of a company that enjoys special government privileges. The villains are no longer red-baiting witch hunters but right-wing corporate types who scheme to take over the American government. As in the original film, the bad guys try to establish mind control over a group of veterans.

Trouble is, these Gulf War survivors can’t be completely controlled. They’ve been told that they were involved in a heroic mission led by Medal of Honor winner Sgt. Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), but they keep having nightmares that convince them otherwise. The story’s hero, Army Major Ben Marco, senses that he and his fellow soldiers are being used as part of a coup.

While Denzel Washington captures the character’s increasingly agitated state, Frank Sinatra, who played Marco 42 years ago, had an advantage: sharper dialogue. Meryl Streep plays Shaw’s domineering, obscenely ambitious mother, Senator Eleanor Prentiss Shaw, whose mouth-to-mouth kisses and jealous spasms hint at an incestuous relationship with her son.

This was shocking in the 1962 film, especially because of the obsessive way Angela Lansbury and Laurence Harvey played these scenes, but their strange mother-son chemistry is missing from the new film — perhaps because the mother is now a widow and the son is more ambivalent toward her.

It could be that Lansbury and Harvey were just perfectly cast, while Streep and Schreiber don’t connect as magically. But perhaps even Harvey would be baffled by the changes in Shaw’s character. He’s been unconvincingly transformed into the candidate of the title, while his ex-lover’s father (Jon Voight) has become Shaw’s political rival.

MORE MANCHURIAN Review: ‘Candidate’ works too hard to update a classic Original ‘Manchurian’ shrouded in mystery In Denzel Washington we trust ‘Manchurian Candidate’ finds a new bad guy Newsweek: 'Candidate' conspiracy redux Dateline: 'Manchurian' cast talks politics Today: Denzel dazzled by script

The tone of the new film is wildly different. Demme’s garish visual style contrasts sharply with Frankenheimer’s matter-of-fact approach. Demme tends to go over the top in the nightmare-flashback scenes, whereas Frankenheimer held back, making their dreamy banality the most chilling element.

The new script also blunders by removing all ambiguity from the role of Marco’s caretaker, Rosie, who seems to arrive from nowhere to help him. Four decades ago, Janet Leigh played her as a mystery woman who might be involved in a conspiracy, but Kimberly Elise is forced to spell out exactly who she is.

The screenwriters, Daniel Pyne (“The Sum of All Fears”) and Dean Georgaris (“Paycheck”), work hard to bring the story into the 21^st Century, throwing in references to outsourcing, regime change and a slogan that might have come from Homeland Security: “Freedom from fear is not negotiable.” For the moment, that may make it seem more relevant than the 1962 version, but what will it look like in 2044?

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