Film reviews of "The Manchurian Candidate," and "Intimate Strangers."

A Gulf War veteran, haunted by nightmares of an ill-fated combat mission, digs for answers only to uncover a terrifying truth in the pulse-pounding political thriller "The Manchurian Candidate" (Paramount).

In remaking John Frankenheimer's 1962 Cold War classic based on the paranoia page-turner by Richard Condon, director Jonathan Demme gives the tale a 21st-century facelift, weaving ripped-from-the-headlines fears about government and corporate malfeasance and post-Sept. 11 anxieties into a timely and tautly paced tapestry of spine-tingling suspense.

Updating the action from the Korean War era to the present, the film stars Denzel Washington as Army Maj. Bennett Marco (the role played by Frank Sinatra in the original), a soldier plagued by bad dreams about events that occurred during a firefight in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

Diagnosed with Gulf War syndrome, Marco spends most of his days shilling the valorous virtues of his decorated former comrade-in-arms, Sgt. Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), whose single-handed heroics had, 12 years earlier, saved most of their platoon when they were ambushed in Iraqi-occupied Kuwait. Or did he?

A seed of suspicion is planted when Marco has a run-in with another old platoon buddy, Cpl. Al Melvin (Jeffrey Wright), whose ravings Marco initially writes off as delusional. However, the macabre drawings contained in Melvin's sketchbook -- visual transcripts of his disturbing dreams -- seem to eerily corroborate Marco's own tortured night visions.

Meanwhile, Shaw has become a rising star on the political stage. Thanks to his war hero status and the backroom bulldozing of his domineering mother, neoconservative Sen. Eleanor Shaw (Meryl Streep), he is named as a vice presidential candidate. Jon Voight plays a right-minded but left-leaning Beltway bellwether, Sen. Thomas Jordan, who had been the front-runner for the VP position.

A campaign trail meeting with Shaw only reinforces Marco's growing conviction that something terrible happened to their patrol and that somehow their memories of the events were altered to fit a fictitious script which they all now remember as reality.

In his dogged pursuit of the truth, Marco begins to shed light on a conspiratorial coup-in-the-making involving the highest corridors of power and a shadowy corporation called Manchurian Global, which, if not stopped, could threaten the very foundations of American democracy.

While staying true to the structure of the 1962 film, Demme's revamping lacks the original's subtlety and barbed satire. Surrealism and suggestion are replaced with creepy atmospherics and a gritty, hard-edged realism. Violence -- confined mostly to the grisly flashback sequences -- is much more graphic; it includes point-blank executions and a gruesome strangulation.

Demme's deft storytelling keeps viewers guessing and off-balance, but the script is at times convoluted and many of its labyrinthine plot twists lead to narrative and logical cul-de-sacs. Certain changes were unavoidable in the updating: Korea becomes Kuwait; fear of terrorism replaces fear of communism; the military-industrial complex dons the black hat previously worn by the Soviets and Chinese; hypnosis gives way to microchip mind control. The ending has also been decidedly altered.

The Oscar-winning Washington is a believable study of obsession, giving a tour-du-force performance as a man whose fractured psyche is losing its grip on sanity. Schrieber is also convincing and elicits much more sympathy than Laurence Harvey in the original. Stepping into the imperious hose of Angela Lansbury, Streep steals the show even as she chews the scenery.

Despite its morally murky coda, the film raises intriguing questions concerning the role of free will and the justification of killing. And while much darker this time around, "The Manchurian Candidate" maintains the original's underlying faith in humanity.

Chilling and absorbing, "The Manchurian Candidate" as popcorn entertainment is a cut above the rest though it falls short of the original's bona fide masterpiece status. Still, if you are in the mood for a stylish, psychological thrill ride, this might be just the right candidate.

Due to several scenes of graphic violence and torture, as well as some crude language and profanity, the USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted.

-- David DiCerto

Intimate Strangers
An unhappy wife mistakes a tax accountant's office for that of the psychiatrist down the hall and, before the accountant can protest, reveals intimate details of her life. This sets up the scene for the sort of sophisticated love story that only European filmmakers seem to manage without resorting to gratuitous sex or cliched plot development in "Intimate Strangers" ("Confidence Trop Intimes") (Paramount Classics).

As the enigmatic Anna (Sandrine Bonnaire) launches into a painful disclosure of her shaky marriage and nonexistent sex life, mild-mannered accountant William (Frabrice Luchini) assumes she is simply digressing before leading into financial matters. But, intrigued by her story, he allows her to come back a second time without making much effort to disabuse her of her mistake.

Later, troubled by the ethics of what he's doing, he reveals all to the real therapist, Dr. Monnier (Michel Duchaussoy), who in turn takes on William as a patient to analyze the latter's motives in engaging in this deception.

Eventually Anna discovers her error, but when her initial anger subsides she chooses to continue the "doctor-patient" relationship regardless, under the watchful eye of William's maternally starchy assistant, Mrs. Mulon (Helene Surgere in a splendidly real character study). A relationship of mutual dependency develops, turning into a sort of unstated love, albeit never physical.

This love is hardly traditional. Still, "Intimate Strangers" (skillfully written by Jerome Tonnerre) essentially tells of two lonely people reaching out to each other: she, having been traumatized by a troubled childhood, and he, a loner recovering from a failed relationship. As they continue their sessions, he loosens up and stops wearing a tie, while she realizes she has someone who will listen to her troubles and similarly blossoms.

William confides all in his ex-girlfriend, Jeanne (Anne Brochet), while Anna's husband, Marc (Gilbert Melki), learns of his wife's weekly assignations, presumes there's a real affair going on, and confronts William. Surprisingly, he has no problem with the purported affair, but insists they carry on at his house where he can feel he's somehow part of the action. (William declines.) This plot twist may be troublesome to Catholic viewers, as may a later plot development which reveals a further deviant side to Marc's personality.

Director Patrice Leconte ("Monsieur Hire") is a skillful storyteller. And the performances, as indicated, are masterful, with the middle-aged, sad-eyed Luchini -- a far cry from a conventional leading man -- particularly expressive. Luchini has a wonderful moment when, in his happiness over the burgeoning relationship, the uptight accountant unexpectedly cuts loose alone in his apartment to Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour," a delightful interlude in an otherwise somber film, shot mostly in gray shades.

Inevitably, a certain static quality sets in, though the actors' faces speak volumes and keep you absorbed throughout almost all of the film's 104-minute running time. An additional element that sustains your interest is the suspense of not knowing any more about Anna than William does, as we see everything from his perspective. At one point, for instance, she mentions accidentally running over her husband with the car, which sets you wondering if she may be psychotic. Indeed, the true motivations of both characters keep you guessing all along.

Because of a few nongratuitous instances of crude language, an air of perversity in the central relationship, a couple of implied instances of voyeurism, and a casual depiction of an unconventional marriage, the USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted.

-- Harry Forbes

Harry Forbes is director of and David DiCerto is on the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.