A candid, warts-in-all look at the political process, this solid character study follows Robert Redford as Bill McKay, golden boy lawyer and prodigal son of a former California governor (Melvyn Douglas), as he runs for senator against a popular incumbent. Frank and refreshing, like the candidate himself, the film manages to explore the campaign trail without moralizing or satirizing, portraying a nuanced, reluctant politician who questions the value of politics itself and presenting himself to voters unvarnished and real. Like a gritty 70’s crime film, but for the meat grinder of politics, this movie remains urgently and thoughtfully relevant to this day.
“Screenwriter Jeremy Lardner earned an Oscar for The Candidate, a sharp, unsentimental, mordantly funny dissection of big-time politics. More surprising by far, though, was Robert Redford not receiving an Oscar nod after one of the strongest, most nuanced performances of his career.” – Ben Cosgrove, Time
