The Manchurian Candidate

Bennett Marco can't sleep.

Dreams have taken over his unconscious state; nightmares involving tattooed women, blood, strange faces, and disturbing chants terrify him every night. But, like the good soldier he is, he pushes on, living on nothing but Cup 'O noodles, tomatoes, and No Doze. He gives speeches to boy scouts about his unit, which served in Iraq during Desert Storm, and his brave, distinguished hero of a comrade, Sergeant First Class Raymond Prentiss Shaw. You see, Shaw saved his life, and the lives of most of his men by fending off a group of enemy troops during a firefight. Ben doesn't remember this, but that's okay. He knows for sure that Shaw is the hero he's been made out to be.

He would bet his life on it, until he meets another soldier from his unit. He's having the dreams, too. And the man is convinced that Shaw isn't the good guy.

Meanwhile, Raymond Shaw has left his military days behind him, and, according to his mother's wishes, is hoping for a nomination to run for Vice President of the United States. He's handsome, kind, perfectly polite and best of all, his mother is the esteemed Senator Eleanor Prentiss Shaw. A loving mother, she is, however, horribly manipulative, and it seems that Raymond would be running for office with or without his consent. Another driving force behind his nomination is the mysterious, almost all powerful Manchurian Global, a corporation with which his mother has strong ties. After Shaw wins the party's nomination, everything seems to be going well, and he starts out on the campaign trail, shaking hands and kissing babies, to everyone's - especially his mother's - delight. But something's not right. He's missing memories, experiencing strange mood swings, and is becoming scared.

And now, at the near height of his political career, Ben Marco has shown up again, spouting strange explanations for his mental state.

"Are we friends, Ben?" Raymond asks. "I wanna believe we were friends."

"We are connected and that's something nobody can take from us." Ben replies. "You coulda had me locked up, but you didn't. That's proof that there's something deep inside. There's a part that they can't get to. And it's deep inside of us. And that's where the truth is."[1]
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After twists and turns that venture into the lands of mind control, corporations controlling government, brainwashing, and political corruption, the film culminates in an explosive finale that will have you on the edge of your seat.

Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber, and Meryl Streep star in this 2004 Political/Psychological Thriller, and in my opinion, it is definitely worth watching.

WARNING: This movie is rated R, and for good reason (violence, heavy language, brief scenes of sensuality).

Sources:

[1] imdb.com