The Candidate film review

"Politics is bullshit."

Such sentiment, spoken early in the film, sums up The Candidate’s position on politics, not to mention my own. Robert Redford plays the title role, a fresh-faced kid and son of a former governer goaded by a group of campaign strategists (namely Peter Boyle) into running against an "unbeatable" Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate. With nothing to lose, he starts off by running the campaign by his conscience and the seat of his pants, but eventually it all gets away from him as the machine takes over. Much like Network, this satire on an American institution continues to gain relevance instead of lose it. The scene of Redford finally losing his mind stands as one of cinema’s most classic moments. Plenty of one-liner gems only add to the majesty of the film.

Review by Christopher Null © 2004 filmcritic.com