The Manchurian Candidate

Major Bennett Marco (Washington) was once at the helm of a U.S. Army unit during the Gulf War in 1991, with Sergeant First Class Raymond Shaw (Schreiber) under his command. Shaw's bravery in the face of enemy fire earned him the Medal of Honor for single-handedly rescuing all but two members of their reconnaissance patrol from the clutches of destruction over a grueling three-day journey through the Kuwaiti desert. Today, Shaw has transitioned to a life of politics, serving as a U.S. congressman. His mother, Virginia Senator Eleanor Prentiss Shaw (Streep), wields her influence to secure his nomination for vice-president, much to the dismay of favored candidate Senator Tom Jordan.

Shaw's personal relationships are complicated by his distant nature, stemming in part from the painful memories of his childhood sweetheart Jocelyn, Senator Jordan's daughter. His mother's machinations had previously driven a wedge between Shaw and Jocelyn, an emotional scar that still lingers. Meanwhile, one of Marco's former soldiers, Al Melvin, reaches out to him with fragmented recollections and disturbing dreams about their ill-fated patrol. Despite the clear signs of mental illness, Melvin imparts his eerie visions to Marco through a series of drawings.

As Marco becomes increasingly plagued by vivid nightmares, he begins to question what really transpired during that fateful mission. His investigations lead him to New York City, where on a train ride, he encounters Rosie, an effervescent supermarket clerk who has somehow already recognized him. She offers him a place to stay in her apartment, and Marco finds himself drawn into her warm hospitality.

In the midst of this journey, Marco discovers a small lump on his upper back while showering at Rosie's place. His curiosity gets the better of him as he uses a knife to excavate the mysterious object, revealing a tiny metallic fragment beneath his skin. However, in the chaos that ensues, the object slips down the bathroom sink, lost forever, thanks to Rosie's sudden intervention after sensing Marco's distress signals.

As Marco (no actor name provided) bursts into Shaw's (actor name) campaign headquarters, a tense standoff ensues between the two adversaries. Over a shared meal, their animosity boils over as Marco pins down Shaw, employing his teeth to extract an implant he believes is lodged beneath the senator's skin. Though arrested, Marco's charges are soon dropped when Shaw declines to pursue prosecution. Back at Rosie's (no actor name provided) apartment, Marco nurses his wounds and recovers the removed implant, which he had secreted away in his mouth during his brief incarceration.

As Marco presents the implant to his trusted acquaintance, Delp (Bruno Ganz), for analysis, the astute scientist uncovers a surprising purpose behind the device: storage of crucial medical data. However, Delp's expertise also reveals that Manchurian Global, a powerful private equity firm with deep political connections – including Senator Eleanor Shaw's (no actor name provided) own ties to the organization – had been funding a parallel project exploring various types of implantable technology.

Delp's probing therapy sessions using methohexital induce in Marco a newfound clarity regarding his past. He begins to recall fragments of an ambushed mission, during which he and Shaw were forced to eliminate two missing soldiers from his patrol. As Marco becomes increasingly convinced that he is under surveillance, a series of revelations unfolds when Rosie produces cassette tapes containing recordings of their conversations.

Marco's research expedition to the public library yields crucial information about Manchurian Global, leading him to the enigmatic Dr. Atticus Noyle, a South African geneticist with a notorious past involving human experimentation during Apartheid and novel memory implants for Manchurian Global. Marco shares his findings with Senator Jordan (no actor name provided), who confronts Shaw and Eleanor about the connections between Dr. Noyle's work on deep implant behavior modification under a research grant from Manchurian Global, the missing patrol, and subsequent dreams and recollections of its members.

In response to this incriminating evidence, Senator Jordan suggests that Shaw withdraw from the campaign. However, Eleanor "activates" Shaw, ordering him to eliminate Jordan, which he does. Jocelyn (no actor name provided) also falls victim when she attempts to intervene on behalf of her friend.

As Marco confronts Rosie, she discloses her true identity as an undercover FBI agent, having been tracking him all along. This revelation is precipitated by her discovery of an implant in Melvin, one of their fallen comrades, which had mysteriously succumbed to the same fate as other members of their patrol. The FBI swiftly arranges a clandestine meeting between Marco and Shaw, purporting to uncover a sinister plot to brainwash them for the purpose of assassination. This development occurs mere moments before Governor Arthur and Shaw claim victory in the White House.

Meanwhile, Shaw receives an unexpected phone call intended for Marco from Eleanor, which contains coded trigger words that prompt him to carry out an assassination attempt on the newly elected President. In a shocking turn of events, she candidly confesses to having voluntarily surrendered herself to brainwashers, claiming it was done in the best interest of her country. However, Shaw proves resistant to these mind-control techniques, finding solace and empowerment in the memory of Jocelyn's tragic passing.

As tensions reach a fever pitch, Shaw deliberately positions himself between the entranced Marco and the President-elect, sacrificing his own life to prevent the assassination from occurring. As Rosie rushes through the crowd, desperate to locate Marco, Shaw glances towards the vent where Marco is hiding and nods, giving the signal for someone else to take out Marco and his mother. With calculated precision, he guides them into position, only to have Marco ultimately claim their lives with a single rifle shot.

Consumed by grief and despair, Marco prepares to take his own life, but Rosie's timely arrival prevents this tragic outcome by wounding him instead. The FBI then skillfully manipulates the narrative, framing a deceased Manchurian Global contractor as the perpetrator of the heinous crime. As the world watches in stunned silence, the executives at Manchurian Global are left reeling from the devastating revelation that their entire conspiracy has been exposed.

In the aftermath of this cataclysmic event, Rosie leads Marco to the remote island compound where his conditioning took place. As they reflect on his time spent there, Marco symbolically bids farewell to his troubled past by casting a photo of his Army unit and Shaw's Medal of Honor into the sea, marking a turning point in his journey towards redemption and self-discovery.