On the Trail #3: The Better Way?

Now we truly go on the campaign trail with The Candidate (1972, Dir. Michael Ritchie). Robert Redford is Bill McKay: a young, idealistic, do-goody lawyer who also happens to be handsome AND the son of a former Governor. The National Democratic party decides to  rope him into the California Senate race to face the long-time, impregnable Republican incumbent. McKay is hesitant to embarrass himself and take time away from actually making a difference on the ground, but when Democratic strategist Marvin Lucas (Peter Boyle) gives him free reign to say what he wants, no matter how controversial or unpopular, and assures him that he has no real chance of winning -- in fact, promising him that he will lose -- McKay grudgingly takes the opportunity to stir the pot and try to float some real issues into the political atmosphere.

The faux-documentary filming style gives it a real, gritty feel, with an especially 70s, almost Altman-esque aesthetic: a strong ensemble cast, overlapping dialogue, with scenes that burst out of the edges of the frame. The major difference is the usage of an inventive editing style that is especially evident in this rather meta clip. It establishes the eventual rift between McKay’s agenda and that of his party handlers, with an emphasis on the cruel, deft cutting of sight and sound in advertising/propaganda.

Also, aaaahh, delicious Hamm’s.

While McKay builds his brand through candor and accessibility, the machine behind him does what they're paid to do: everything in their power to win. Once he is locked in as the candidate after easily winning the Democratic primary, the power of the Party behind him begins to trump his stances through subtle manipulations. Despite lingering familial tension between McKay and his father, the former Governor (Melvyn Douglas) is brought on board to endorse and glad-hand. His marriage, while seemingly blissful, suffers strain underneath the surface; an affair is alluded to but kept out of sight. He eventually begins the long, painful path to selling out, helplessly relenting his neutered principles to the grinding machine and the faint, glowing possibility of victory. His speeches become robotic, his own ideas totally absent, as one stump speech blends meaninglessly into the next. 

 

The Candidate is a witty, absorbing, and deftly constructed. It provides a still-relevant look into the belly of the beast, where it is frustrating to see that, even though the media microscope has definitely enlarged the scale of everything, basic poli-tactics haven't really changed much in the last 40+ years. 

On the heels of the recent real-life debate, I submit one final (extended) scene, an absolute tour de force, replete with recycled issues, oblique answers, and shifting tides, with Redford looking eerily like a young, hippie, Bill Clinton. Study up before the next dog and pony show, people.

   

The Candidate (1972): 82