The Manchurian Candidate (2004 film)/YMMV

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Rosie (the Love Interest) meets Marco on the train and they have a singularly bizarre conversation. Later she bails him out of jail and through a shorter but just as weird conversation we learn that she's left her fiancee for him despite only meeting him once. Then she has no impact on the rest of the movie at all. The very odd nature of Rosie and Marco's meeting and the general uselessness of her character in both the original novel and the 1962 film have led some, including Roger Ebert, to theorize that she's a Chinese agent sent to keep an eye on Marco. However, in this film, Jonathan Demme made her out to be an American agent investigating the conspiracy.
• Non Sequitur Scene: Marco's breakdown on the train is basically a triple play of these.
• High Octane Nightmare Fuel: A graphic depiction of a murder by asphyxiation with plastic wrap . The victim gags and vomits while his eyes bulge and he claws desperately at his assailant, all to no avail.
  • Meryl Streep's performance, especially in comparison to Angela Lansbury's performance in the original film.
• Jerkass Woobie: Raymond Shaw. Quite the Jerkass, but what happens to him is awful.
• Paranoia Fuel
• Protagonist Title Fallacy: In the novel and first film, the titular "Manchurian Candidate" is Senator John Iselin, a villain who is Mrs. Iselin's husband, confidante, and pawn. This film puts its own twist on this, referring to a corporation called Manchurian Global.
• Uncanny Valley: The animated video used to brainwash the subjects in the 2004 film is just realistic enough to raise the hackles.

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