By Nicholas Porteous
At their annual summit, the G7 world leaders are tasked with writing a provisional statement in a cozy gazebo in the middle of the woods, but everything goes haywire and they become lost in a forest full of zombies and a giant pulsating brain. Y’know, standard TIFF fare. This is Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson‘s Rumours–a surprisingly vague title for such a specifically wacky film.
“This isn’t Summer Camp” notes the British Prime Minister (Nikki Amuka Bird) as a reminder to our Canadian leader (Roy Dupuis), but you’d be very much forgiven for confusing these elected officials with a gang of unruly teens. As one should expect from Maddin and the Johnsons, these supposed adults are–to put it mildly–very silly. Caught-up in their own personal affairs (mainly surrounding the inescapably troubled but undeniably sexy Canadian Prime Minister), existential angst, and–yes—rumours! Cate Blanchett is exceedingly hilarious as the German Chancellor, alongside a buffoonish Rolando Ravello, representing Italy in a particularly unflattering light of aloofness. Charles Dance gives a solid turn as the American President who wants nothing more than to die–although his unwavering British accent had me scratching my head. The Movie makes a winking reference to the odd choice, but never justifies it in a satisfying way, which feels like a missed opportunity.
Rumours is very funny, and I found myself howling more than once at the evergreen comic premise of world leaders behaving like children, but as a feature there’s not much more to it than that. It’s a well-acted, whimsical, 118-minute sketch. Without any real stakes or a compelling dramatic engine, the movie feels more than a bit meandering as a narrative, and its climax does little to distinguish itself from the rest of the proceedings. Does it have a point beyond “world leaders are, at their core, self-obsessed, goofy children just like you and me and we’re all doomed”? If it does, I didn’t see it. But if you enjoy the madcap fever dreams that Maddin and the Johnsons are known for, and you’re willing to bask in that for two hours–arguably an hour beyond its expiration time–Rumours has that energy in spades.
Rumours screens at TIFF ’24:
Monday, September 9 at 8:30 PM at The Royal Alexandra Theatre
Tuesday, September 10 at 4:30 PM at Scotiabank Theatre
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