Event

THE CANDIDATE

SPECIAL EVENT! Screening, Discussion, Reception and Book Signing
In Person: MICHAEL FEENEY CALLAN Author of ROBERT REDFORD: A BIOGRAPHY
Wednesday, June 22 at 7:30pm
Members $9 Public $13
Includes Reception &
Book Signing

What do we do now? Left-wing California lawyer Bill McKay (Robert Redford), the son of a former
governor, is enlisted by campaign maestro Marvin Lucas (Peter Boyle but think James Carvell or
Karl Rove) to challenge the Republican incumbent for his Senate seat. McKay agrees, but only if he can
say exactly what he thinks. His honesty captivates the electorate, and as he inches up in the polls Lucas
and company do whatever it takes to win, leaving McKay to ponder the consequences. Working without
studio interference from a script by a speechwriter for 1968 Presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy,
director Michael Ritchie orchestrated a campaign parade for "candidate" Redford that drew such an enormous
crowd that local politicians wanted to draft Redford for a real election. Redford's resemblance to the telegenic
Kennedys, and his character's resonance with the future career of California governor Jerry Brown, only
emphasized how close to the bone The Candidate was (and continues to be). Released the fateful year of Richard
Nixon's reelection, the film garnered numerous accolades including the Oscar for Best Screenplay (screenwriter
Jeremy Larner thanked the "politicians of our time" for inspiration). USA, 1972, 110 min., Dir. Michael Ritchie