‘Crime isn’t an issue, it’s a symptom...’
Since Robert Redford passed in September of 2025 I’ve been catching up on all of the major works of his that I missed. I thoroughly enjoyed both All the President’s Men and The Natural and I can now see why Redford was such an iconic actor. The Candidate arrived in 1972 with New Hollywood in full swing and it is yet another Redford performance in which you can’t imagine anyone else in the role…
Marvin Lucas (Peter Boyle) has the unenviable job of finding some schmuck to run against popular California Senator Crocker Jarmon (Don Porter) in an upcoming election. Bill McKay (Redford), a handsome public interest lawyer with a famous father, is roped in to run against Jarmon despite his many misgivings. As the campaign rolls on, McKay begins to understand the cynical underbelly of American politics.
The great thing about Redford’s performance here is that he works as a blank canvas for both the electorate in the film and the audience watching at home. McKay flits between being principled and changing with the political tide – the kind of depiction that may seem old hat now but was revolutionary at the time. It’s clear that The Candidate has been a big influence on the work of Aaron Sorkin, for example, and the script, from political speechwriter Jeremy Larner is so authentic that The Candidate often feels more like a documentary than a work of non-fiction (indeed, many of the things depicted here were based on real life examples).
The Candidate is a funny, slightly odd and wildly effective political satire that has echoed throughout the entertainment industry in the years since it was released. The fact that it has only become more prescient over time is a testament to its effectiveness.
