The Candidate

Exploiting the climate of political distrust in modern-day Spain, director Rodrigo Sorogoyen's insinuating, award-winning study of corruption in the corridors of power feels like a millennial variation on those paranoia thrillers produced by New Hollywood in the wake of Watergate. At its heart is Manuel Vidal (Antonio de la Torre), a regional fixer for an unnamed political party, whose wheeler-dealing skills have given him a taste for luxury and power. But, when a scandal breaks and an incriminating tape-recording surfaces, Manuel is thrown under a bus by his erstwhile friends. Not being the kind to go quietly, however, he turns whistle-blower and it's at this juncture that Sorogoyen and co-writer Isabel Peña's eminently plausible premise begins to depart from reality. The compelling de la Torre leads a fine ensemble, with Luis Zahera outstanding in a memorable meltdown sequence. But the dénouement is as thuddingly unsubtle as Olivier Arson's pounding electro score.