Rumours Review:
Rumours Review : Rumours is a film by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson who are all Canadian and focuses on the paradoxes of political leadership under extreme situations, namely crises. The movie was first seen at the Cannes Film Festival 2024 and will be showing in theatres from October 18, 2024. The film features a talented ensemble cast including the amazing Cate Blanchett, Charles Dance, and Alicia Vikander. Playing out this very interesting idea and surreal logic Rumours examines the problems of rule by looking at the lunacy of rulers around the world.
Plot Summary
The story is set within the context of G7 summit where the major democratic leaders approached in order to achieve a cardinal communiqué to be issued at the end of the deliberations in a crisis faced the world. Appearing in the film includes Hilda Ortmann (Cate Blanchett) from Germany, Edison Wolcott (Charles Dance) from the USA, Maxime Laplace (Roy Dupuis) from Canada, Sylvain Broulez (Denis Ménochet) from France, Cardosa Dewindt (Nikki Amuka-Bird) from the UK, Antonio Lamorte (Rolando Ravello) from Italy, Tatsuro Iwasaki (Takehiro Hira) and Japan. It was just another gathering of world powers which soon descended into puzzlement when the heads of state embarked into the forest and got dazed from surreal challenges whilst lost.
With the flow of the film, the leaders are met by more and more remarkable, ludicrous, and even the hosts a cavalcade of zombies. The fantastic elements take place at the end to stand in for the incompetence reference – the habit of farce draped over leadership within the crisis. What was supposed to be an easy assignment turned out to be a descent into hellish escapade, all due to the ridiculousness of the politicians who were placed in their respective positions but could do nothing as the problems escalated.
Political Satire at Its Best
From the first scene, Rumours sets the tone of a political satire, which is critically aimed at the underperformance of the world leaders. The film’s humor finds its place in all sane audiences by engaging the age-old problem, that of the politics of ‘talking’ but not doing. In this respect, the screenplay succeeds in conveying the emotions of the general public towards political figures, especially at this time, narrating a story that is all about the issues of governance and the abuse of power paparazzi today.
Cate Blanchett’s characterization of Hilda Ortmann is one of a highly skilled actress who knows the right timing for laughter but at the same time advances her character with depth. She plays the exasperated character of a leader who is caught in a twisted comedic plot. The relationship of the characters is fiery and the bond between the cast members helps in enhancing the comedy within the film. The presence of an actor adds certain aspects to the role that are inconsistent with the character, thus enriching the whole process and producing scenes that are delightful and stimulating.
The very first parts of the movie come up with some of them, especially with a difficult combination of contents including humor, witty language, and incomprehensible actions. The joking rhythm is quick, which makes it pleasant for the audience to listen to the sarcasm of the political leadership in the film. The audience goes along with the film in this scene as the characters try and fail gloriously to muddle through a dense wood, laughing at the absurdity of it all.
Contradictory Lateral Storytelling Seen in the Second Half
in contrast, nearing the end of Rumours, the script fails to savor the unity created in the first half of the movie. The laughter begins to run out, and the storyline gets more and more ridiculous turns which are unexplained. This change in the view is likely to shock some people who were at first drawn into this film because of the satirical wit crammed throughout it. In the end of the day, choosing to tell a story loosely ties everything together and becomes detrimental instead.
Concerning the first part of the film, tension and humour pressure was admirably created. Unfortunately, the second part of the film suffers from a lack of attention and flow. Especially it concerns the storyline that incorporates artificial intelligence, which seems to be imposed in an unapt manner. This innovation rather than augmenting the plot, becomes a diversion to the film that seems to have superb fun in its earlier scenes.
In addition, the crudely provided justifications for the bizarre activities in the woods make the audience feel lost. There is always a place for ambiguity in a narrative, however, in this instance, it becomes a disadvantage and weakens the message that the film seeks to convey. Something which should have been an interesting investigation of the political issues presented becomes misconstrued as a political scuffle. Thus, there is frustration among the audience due to the wish to be clear on what they graphed out.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, Rumours is an audacious and creative work of dark humor aimed at mocking political figures and politics in general by means of the ridiculous and the surreal. The film’s great acting and stimulating plot render it enjoyable to the audience, especially during the first half. As far as the latter is concerned, Blanchett steals the show as the exasperated head of the state, providing both comic relief and a tragic turn.
However while the last act of the film is weak due to unsatisfactory plot development and lack of funny moments, the viewer is still able to appreciate the difficulties faced by modern day politicians. These absurd situations and ridiculous characters only goes to show how funny it is to be a leader given the turbulent situation in the world today. In short, such demands are also extended to the audience by the creators of Film Rumors.
Merging dark humor with political analysis, Rumours boldly investigates the theme of power and politics. It entertains but encourages one to wonder about the usefulness of the leadership such as the one depicted in the film. It does not address every issue however; it does manage to create at least a minimal discourse on the topic of politics and the politicians’ leadership in times of catastrophes, which is paradoxical.
Rating: 6/10
Pros:
- Exceptional performances from a talented ensemble cast
- Engaging suspense and humor in the initial act
- Clever political satire that resonates with contemporary issues
Cons:
- Ambiguity detracts from the overall narrative coherence
- Loss of momentum and humor in the latter half of the film