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For A Better Way: Bill McKay for Senate

Started by tomwatson · il y a 11 mois

The key line in The Candidate is supposed to be the final one in which Bill McKay (Robert Redford), having just beaten the incumbent to become the new Senator from California, turns to his manager, the wily Lucas (Peter Boyle) and says, “What do we do now?” ... Continue reading »

4 comments

  • estiv

    il y a 2 années

    Yes yes yes. And in that scene where Redford has a mini-breakdown, babbling insane variations of his key stump-speech lines, there is (if I remember correctly) another telling moment. He's alone in the back seat of a car, on the way to yet one more campaign appearance, while two aides ride in front. When Redford starts babbling one of the aides turns around, looks at him, then faces front again, likes he's seen such things before, and knows that the candidate will still deliver at the next stop. Like such behavior is a little odd, but nothing worth stopping for. The car, and the campaign, continue on.
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  • Chuck Tryon

    il y a 2 années

    Thanks for this review. I'd somehow missed seeing The Candidate for years, but after reading your comments, I immediately went and watched it on Netflix (which is kind of cool).

    I think you're right about the pivotal line. The recognition Redford has when his father delivers that line is devastating. The direction is subtle, especially as we gradually see McKay morph into a political machine.

    Estiv, the scene is as you describe, and yes, McKay "delivers" when he gets to the next campaign stop, the parade where he leaps onto the back of the convertible, ready to conquer the world (or at least California).
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  • The Viscount

    il y a 1 année

    It's been too long since I've seen this one. Thanks for the excellent review and reminder.
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  • Eric Ebacher

    il y a 5 mois

    One of the best movies that Robert Redford ever made, at least until "All the President's Men" came out (1976), when he played a newspaper reporter investigating the Watergate break-in, the subsequent cover-up, and all the events afterwards, including the ultimate resignation of the president of the United States. In "The Candidate", he plays a man running for U.S. Senate who promises to do what his opponent Crocker Jarmon also promised, but never followed through on.
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