Revealing mistake: In the beginning, there is a scene where Sen. Shaw is watching Raymond make a speech on a TV screen. It was obviously put in in post-production because the aide immediately next to the screen is nodding and clapping in agreement at inappropiate times.
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington, Jon Voight, Liev Schreiber, Anthony Mackie, Jeffrey Wright, Pablo Schreiber, Dorian Missick
Unlike the original, this remake has nothing to do with cards. Maj. Bennett Marco (Washington) slowly visualizes events in Kuwait which lead him to believe that he and he was platoon were brainwashed into believing Raymond Shaw (Schreiber) had saved them in combat. Raymond was brainwashed into killing Sen. Jordan (Voight). Eleanor Shaw (Streep) has the power to brainwash the men as well, and she brainwashes Marco into assassinating President Arthur so that Raymond can be the next president. During the convention, Marco gets prepared to snipe Arthur, but Raymond, who is also brainwashed, overcomes the spell and lures himself and Eleanor into Marco's sight. Marco kills both of them with one bullet. Rosie (Elise) who turns out to be a Federal Agent, stops Marco from killing himself by shooting him in the shoulder. Marco goes back to the island where Atticus Noyle (McBurney) brainwashed the men. He places a photo of the platoon and the Medal of Honor in the water.
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More mistakes in The Manchurian Candidate
Senator Thomas Jordan: And you bring me rumors and conjecture.
Ben Marco: I started with nightmares. Rumors, conjectures, that's a giant leap forward.
Question: There were two flashbacks of how Raymond Shaw killed one of the soldiers. One scene it showed him suffocating him in the desert with a piece of plastic. In another scene it shows him choking him with his hands in some kind of observation room. Was the desert 'killing', a dream combining the truth with the brainwashing?
Answer: The plastic bag killing was part of the dream. Many things in the dreams are off. For example in the dream he sees himself handling the pistol while lying in a bed. When we see his actual memory, he is standing, and Shaw hands him the gun, which he immediately uses.
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Chosen answer: Perhaps the piece-of-plastic killing was a "test run" by the brainwashers to see if Raymond would actually react to their commands. You can see other soldiers lying down wearing "halos", hinting that this happened at a different time and place than the observation room choking.