Review of The Candidate (1972) by Steve G — 08 Jan 2017
The most one-dimensional movie ever made.
Painfully self-aware. This is around the time Redford wanted to be taken seriously. He's just not a great actor, is he?
Redford is Obama, the way the media sees him.
He is watching the system from his perch far above the clouds over us.
This film is more artificial than the candidate it portrays. It proposes to be an in-depth character study, but it's a shallow message. It intends to make empty platitudes sound like child-like sincerity as though it's confronting us with social honesty for the first time; when in reality, it's simply congratulating itself for vaunting meager notions that most people have graduated beyond once they've read their first book. Robert Redford is not my savior. But those who love this movie see themselves as him -- as that. See, he's in touch with the REAL people, because he brokers credibility to stage-one thinking.
Being There is so much better a version of this, because it portrays the candidate for what he actually is, rather than the very opposite. Instead of someone being thrust into political positioning on account of his angelic, noble idealism, he's thrown into because of his being a functional retard. The latter is far closer to the truth.
A movie made by quasi-commies intended to make liberty seem scary & centralization palatable. Somehow, federal government is seen as the magic pill to solve everything that his opponent is ruining by not being a statist.
The phoniness of his opponent desperately reaching for federalism once disaster strikes is absolutely hilarious.
The funny part is that even the slimiest of politicans here warn against exploiting strategy for political gain. So even they have so scruples that their real life political successors have lost.
No real attempt made to show us how he was convinced to run. There's no reason to believe his support is growing. Horribly edited.
The one good thing is that even though it wishes to portray redford as angelic, it does offer some glimpse as to the glibness & exploitation of the political system... even on the 'good guy's' side.
I adore that in this 1972 election year, this pro-McGovern movie had the powerful impact of winning him an entire state against Nixon. lol!!!
The only good thing is that because of nonsense like this, Reagan happened. So I guess, thank you, The Candidate.
This review of The Candidate (1972) was written by Steve G on 08 January 2017.
The Candidate has generally received positive reviews.
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