The Candidate
Nov. 18th, 2006 08:42 amI re-upped on Netflix after several months off. It sent me The Candidate. My queue is full of political films from earlier this year. I think ![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cawriter recommended this film about a young lawyer (Robert Redford) who is seduced into running for office through the power of good intention, then corrupted by the political process.
It is a long, very subtle, film. Looking up trivia about it on the internet later made me wonder if the perhaps the film isn't too subtle. A lot of people commented about how attractive and inspirational they find Redford, completley ignoring the fact that he's a corrupted character by the end of the film. Mom said that when the movie first came out, it was considered commentary on the Kennedy boys. I could definitely see it reflected in the film.
It also made me notice that Redford has made an entire career out of playing attractive people who use their good looks to manipulate others. I saw The Way We Were earlier this year (some fine performances ruined by a dreadful film) in which he plays a charismatic character who falls for the Barbara Streisand and then dumps her because she isn't the kind of wife he needs politically. These performances suggest that the attractive characters aren't just robbing others, they are also robbed of the kinds of experiences and responsibility required of less attractive people. Where the Barbara character is able to stand by her idealism, the Redford character depends on his good looks, charm, and having the right wife to find his way out of difficult situation, abandoning his first wife and their child for what is initially perceived as the easy way out.
It made me wonder what Redford's experience has been. His performances suggests an awareness of the way his looks allow him to manipulate others, but also an uneasy relationship with it.
cawriter recommended this film about a young lawyer (Robert Redford) who is seduced into running for office through the power of good intention, then corrupted by the political process.It is a long, very subtle, film. Looking up trivia about it on the internet later made me wonder if the perhaps the film isn't too subtle. A lot of people commented about how attractive and inspirational they find Redford, completley ignoring the fact that he's a corrupted character by the end of the film. Mom said that when the movie first came out, it was considered commentary on the Kennedy boys. I could definitely see it reflected in the film.
It also made me notice that Redford has made an entire career out of playing attractive people who use their good looks to manipulate others. I saw The Way We Were earlier this year (some fine performances ruined by a dreadful film) in which he plays a charismatic character who falls for the Barbara Streisand and then dumps her because she isn't the kind of wife he needs politically. These performances suggest that the attractive characters aren't just robbing others, they are also robbed of the kinds of experiences and responsibility required of less attractive people. Where the Barbara character is able to stand by her idealism, the Redford character depends on his good looks, charm, and having the right wife to find his way out of difficult situation, abandoning his first wife and their child for what is initially perceived as the easy way out.
It made me wonder what Redford's experience has been. His performances suggests an awareness of the way his looks allow him to manipulate others, but also an uneasy relationship with it.
