Counter Culture

Director: Jonathan Demme
Certificate R (USA) 15 (UK)
Running Time 129 mins
Reviewed by Betty Wood

I approached the viewing of this film already slightly bored by the current trend for the remaking of old films and in a week in which the Alfie remake had gone straight to Number 5 in the Screen Charts.

Not convinced that a remake of the 1962 Cold War classic targeting Communism and starring Frank Sinatra and Angela Lansbury had anything relevant to say today, I found that I was slowly, scene by scene, drawn into this complicated, rich tale full of complex and dangerous characters. This is not an action film, although there are scenes of war and assasinations but a hypnotic story of mind control, the political power exerted by large, global firms.

From the opening scenes of soldiers playing cards before going into action, the story goes back and forward in time and focus, moving between the main protaganists.

As the story, which begins in Kuwait in 1991, unfolds against the current day tensions of elections for the Vice-President, we begin to see US Army Major Bennett Marco (Denzel Washington) begin to doubt the reality of his 1991 Gulf War experince in which his Platoon (apart form two soldiers who died in the desert) was saved by Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber).

I’m not going to describe the story in detail except to say that it raises serious questions about the tie-ins between political power and big corporations; the use of mind control techniques on combatants;the use also of personal power in the steely character of Senator Eleanor Prentiss Shaw (Meryl Streep), who is Seargeant Shaw’s Mother.

The ending of the film is slightly contrived as the film’s pace changes and it seems to rush to present a conclusion which ties up the loose ends.

The acting in this film is of a high calibre particularly Meryl Streep’s character who was so icy and powerful she made me shudder at times. The scenes with Streep, Washington and Schreiber were absolute stunners. The very deliberate camerawork focusing intently on the actors faces, showing every nuance of emotion, added to the imapact and contrasted beautifully with other scenically powerful shots of burning oil fields and staggeringly high skylines.

Smaller but equally significant roles were played by Jon Voight as Senator Thomas Jordan, by Jeffrey Wright as Corporal Al Melvin (a member of the saved platoon who is having strange and disturbing dreams).

Kimberly Elise as Rosie, a Federal Agent assigned to track Marco and learn what he knows is a key character. Previously unknown to me I was impressed by here performance and look forward to seeing her again.

Full Cast and Crew for Manchurian Candidate, The (2004)

Directed by Jonathan Demme

Writing credits

Richard Condon (novel)

George Axelrod (1962 screenplay)

Daniel Pyne (screenplay) and

Dean Georgaris (screenplay) Cast (in credits order)

Denzel Washington …. Ben Marco

Meryl Streep …. Eleanor Shaw

Liev Schreiber …. Raymond Shaw

Jeffrey Wright …. Al Melvin

Kimberly Elise …. Rosie

Jon Voight …. Senator Thomas Jordan

Ted Levine …. Colonel Howard

Miguel Ferrer …. Colonel Garret

Bruno Ganz …. Delp

Tom Stechschulte …. Robert Arthur

Pablo Schreiber …. Eddie Ingram

Anthony Mackie …. Robert Baker

Dorian Missick …. Owens

Jose Pablo Cantillo …. Villalobos

Teddy Dunn …. Wilson

Joaquin Perez-Campbell …. Atkins

Tim Artz …. Jameson

Robyn Hitchcock …. Laurent Tokar

Antoine Taylor …. Boy Scout #1

Joseph Alessi …. Boy Scout #2

Raymond Anthony Thomas …. Scout Dad (as Ray Anthony Thomas)

Bill Irwin …. Scoutmaster

Al Franken …. TV Commentator

Paul Lazar …. Gillespie

Danny Darst …. Ellie’s Mysterious Aide

Stephanie McBride …. Political Aide

Molly Hickock …. Political Aide

Victoria Haynes …. Political Aide

Adam LeFevre …. Congressman Healy

Roger Corman …. Mr. Secretary

Leona E. Sondreal …. Green Room Official #2

Zeljko Ivanek …. Vaughn Utly

Jim Roche …. Senator from Florida

Ann Dowd …. Congresswoman Becket

Obba Babatundé …. Senator Wells

Harry Northup …. Congressman Flores (as Harry Northrup)

James Beattie Howard …. Himself

Walter Mosley …. Congressman Rawlins

Gordon Brummer …. “Gordy”

Gayle King …. Media Icon

Brad Holbrook …. Newscaster #7

Stacey Newsome-Santiago …. Roving Reporter

Kristen Shaughnessy …. Newscaster #4

Prue Lewarne …. Newscaster #8

Forrest Sawyer …. Newscaster #1

Ukee Washington …. Newscaster #9

Ed Crane …. Newscaster #6

Kaity Tong …. Newscaster #2

Roma Torre …. Newscaster #3 (as Roma Torre-Lopez)

William Meisle …. Tyler Prentiss

Dan Olmstead …. Senator John Shaw

Sakina Jaffrey …. Mysterious Arabic Woman

Simon McBurney …. Atticus Noyle

Charles Napier …. General Sloan

Robert W. Castle …. General Wilson (as Robert Castle)

John Aprea …. Rear Admiral Glick

Jane DeNoble …. Robert Arthur’s Wife

Vera Farmiga …. Jocelyne Jordan

Jude Ciccolella …. David Donovan

Dean Stockwell …. Mark Whiting

John Bedford Lloyd …. Jay “J.B.” Johnston

David Keeley …. Agent Evan Anderson

Christopher M. Russo …. Secret Service Agent #1

Michael C. Pierce …. Secret Service Agent #2

Marin Ireland …. Army Transcriber

Glen Hartell …. Army Transcriber

Tracey Walter …. Night Clerk

Alyson Renaldo …. Mirella Freeman

Edwidge Danticat …. Rosie’s Cousin

Kenneth Utt …. Rosie’s Cousin’s Mentor (as Kenny Utt)

Enrique Correa …. Reporter #2

David Neumann …. Reporter #3

Neda Armian …. Reporter #4

Paul Johnson …. Campaign Security

James Michael McCauley …. FBI Agent Jonas (as James McCauley)

BeBe Winans …. FBI Agent Williams

Darrell Larson …. FBI Agent Ramirez

Kate Valk …. Agent Volk

Beau Sia …. Late Night Comedian

Duana Butler …. Library Clerk

Big Jim Wheeler …. Library Patron

Lauren Roselli …. Jordan’s Aide

Stephen Richardson …. Jordan’s Aide

Shing Ka …. Rosie’s Sidekick

Malcolm Simpson …. Yelling Kid

Cassius Kumar Wilkinson …. “Abe Lincoln” (as Cassius Wilkinson)

Josephine Demme …. “Statue of Liberty”

Gabriela Fung …. “Betsy Ross”

Denzel Delahoussaye …. “George Washington”

Aaron Scoenfeld …. “Uncle Sam”

Geovonne Long …. “MLK”

Jonathan Borst …. “JFK”

Michael Shehata …. “American Eagle”

Tom Chapin …. Governor Edward Nelson

Jiggs Walker …. Churchgoer (as Lewis ‘Jiggs’ Walker)

Joey Perillo …. Jimmy

Buzz Kilman …. The Guy with the Shades

Marie Runyon …. Arthur’s Mother

Eliza Simpson …. Arthur’s Child

Julie Adamy …. Arthur’s Child

Andre B. Blake …. Victory Party Director

Tymberly Canale Harris …. Victory Party Celebrity Soldier

Lilly McDowell …. Shaw’s Aide

Joshua Elrod …. Shaw’s Aide (as Josh Elrod)

Craig Branam …. Klaus Bachman

Sidney Lumet …. Political Pundit

Anna Deavere Smith …. Political Pundit

Roy Blount Jr. …. Political Pundit

Fab Five Freddy …. Political Pundit Rest of cast listed alphabetically

Reggie Austin …. Skid Row Resident #1 (uncredited)

Jaclynn Tiffany Brown …. Campaign Staffer (uncredited)

E. Jean Carroll …. Reporter #5 (uncredited)

Wally Dunn …. Burly Passenger (uncredited)

Daryl Edwards …. Train Conductor (uncredited)

Reginald Footman …. Skid Row Resident #2 (uncredited)

Ann Pearl Gary …. Skid Rown Resident #4 (uncredited)

James Howard …. Political Party Member (uncredited)

Hugh Karraker …. TV Moderator (uncredited)

Jeremy Knaster …. Caretaker (uncredited)

Carol Jean Lewis …. Abby (uncredited)

Al Lopez …. Waiter (uncredited)

Pete Macnamara …. FBI Agent (uncredited)

Dorothy Maneiro Brown …. Choir Soloist (uncredited)

Josh Mowery …. VP Candidate (uncredited)

Reno …. Pundit #2 (uncredited)

Michelle Roberson …. Skid Row Resident #3 (uncredited)