The Candidate (USA, 1972) 109 min color DIR: Michael Ritchie. SCR: Jeremy Larner. PROD: Walter Coblenz. MUSIC: John Rubinstein. DOP: Victor J. Kemper, John Korty. CAST: Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Melvyn Douglas, Don Porter, Allen Garfield, Karen Carlson, Quinn Redeker, Michael Lerner, Kenneth Tobey. (Warner Bros.)
Jeremy Larner’s Oscar-winning screenplay, about an upstart who gets elected with seeming ease, seems more relevant with each new Administration. Robert Redford is Bill McKay, the son of a elder statesman who decides to run for California Senate against some old fogey who has held the position for too long. With good looks but little political etiquette, and even less hope of winning, the man surprisingly becomes wildly popular simply by stating what is on his mind, and thankfully what he thinks is also what the disconcerted public wants to hear.
You know you’re in a 70s movie when Allen Garfield plays one of the sleazy people who attempt to carve out McKay’s image in the name of political victory. (Peter Boyle is another goon on McKay’s support team whose tried-and-true methods seem even more primitive than the awkwardness of their unschooled boss in the political arena.) Although The Candidate isn’t brilliant, it remains a fascinating look at the political machine- thanks to the ever-present media, showmanship often eclipses whatever policies the election hopeful is attempting to uphold.
Director Michael Ritchie is most remembered as a maker of sports-related films, and in a sense this is no exception—what bigger game is there really, than an election? However, before he made his directorial debut with Downhill Racer (also with Redford), he was a sports photographer, and periodically the “on-the-fly” necessity of that profession is seen in his feature work. Sometimes this picture resembles a documentary in its day-to-day aspect of McKay’s slow ascent to power. As such, it is probably understandable that the film is so episodic. The movie is essentially a feature-length series of fragmented scenes that do not flow together, yet this is essential to depicting the whirlwind, out-of-control arena-like atmosphere of his campaign, as he blurs from one photo op to another (interestingly, Redford’s former co-star Natalie Wood plays herself in a bit).
Later in his career, Redford would contribute to films with social causes (Incident at Oglala; The Milagro Beanfield War). However at the time of The Candidate, his good looks perhaps overshadowed his serious intentions. And yet, this star often purposely chose projects which downplayed his sex appeal. The Candidate feels all the more authentic because one does not for a moment consider it as a star vehicle. At the same time, the picture is pungently funny, as it takes potshots at the ruling Administration’s being out of touch with the modern world. When a man in Watts asks one of the politicians to “Gimme five!”, few of them know what he’s talking about. The single most cynical, jaw-dropping moment of this poison pen to politics is of course the famous ending, where McKay wins the election and then says to Boyle, “What do we do now?” Today this finale emerges as a sorry prophecy of another politician’s son who blundered his way into power and then didn’t have a clue what to do from there.
Originally presented in Vol. #1, Issue #14, (“Back to the 70s”), as part of the article, “The Paranoia Machine”.
Greg Woods
Greg Woods has been a film enthusiast since his teens, and began his writing "career" at the same time- prolific in capsule reviews of everything he had watched, first on index cards, then those hardcover dollar store black journals, then an old Mac IIsi. He founded The Eclectic Screening Room in 2001, as a portal to share his film love with the world, and find some like-minded enthusiasts along the way. In addition to having worked in the film industry for over two decades, he has been a co-programmer of films at Trash Palace, and a programmer/co-founder of the Toronto Film Noir Syndicate. He has also written for Broken Pencil, CU-Confidential, Micro-Film, and is currently working on his first novel. His secret desire is for someone to interview him for a podcast or a DVD extra.