(SPOILER WARNING)
It’s election day! Today is the day that American citizens select the person that they’ll be angry with for the next four years. Have you voted yet? I did and, after I turned in my ballot, this guy at the polling place told me that I was the prettiest voter that he had seen all day. Awwwwww!
Today’s scene that I love is particularly appropriate for Election Day. In The Candidate (1972), Bill McKay (played by Robert Redford) runs for the U.S. Senate. Directed in a documentary fashion by Michael Ritchie, The Candidate features excellent supporting performances from Melvyn Douglas and Peter Boyle and it’s one of the best films ever made about the American political system.
The scene below takes place at the end of the film, after the votes have been counted. And, of course, the entire scene is a spoiler so don’t watch it if you haven’t seen The Candidate.
Through the Shattered Lens 
I’ve always remembered that last line, but it was great to see the two other brilliant lines. Hotel staff: “You guys are not supposed to be here.” And later, Redford is asked “What’s on your mind” and he answers “I don’t know.” Such a brilliant ending. That’s script writing!
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One of the greatest motion pictures that I’ve ever seen.
It stands up to repeated viewings and gets better each time. You could recast the role of Bill McKay a hundred times over and most probably never find anyone as well-suited as Robert Redford, blessed with Kennedy-esque charm, to play the role of Bill McKay. Peter Boyle, typically seen as an oddball character but here playing against type (and almost unrecognisable behind the beard and glasses), is great as Marvin Lucas, the political guru who attempts to sell McKay to the public. What a brilliant performance, what a professional.
Jeremy Larner picked up an Academy Award for his writing. Rightfully so, too. It makes me wonder if Larner came up with the brilliant ending first, then wrote everything else around it.
Even minor characters in this film make an impression. The angry old man who hands McKay the hot dog, the hotel worker that McKay and Lucas encounter when they’re trying to find a place to talk in private, the fair-haired groupie who is practically silent throughout the film but seems to be never too far from McKay…you even get Groucho Marx and Natalie Wood in this one!
Forty years later, this film is still as fresh and relevant as ever. Anybody considering a run for public office ought to watch this film from director Michael Ritchie. This is a film largely overlooked by contemporary audiences.
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