RUMOURS***

Co-directors Guy Madden (MY WINNIPEG) and Evan and Galen Johnson have created arguably the most absurd, whimsical and batshit crazy film of 2024 in their political satire RUMOURS.  

The movie starts with the G7 leaders meeting at German country estate to draft some kind of vapid communique about an unnamed crisis. Night falls, their phones stop working, fog rolls in, a giant brain appears (!), and the leaders start stumbling through the forest without a clue.  Evidently this is an extended metaphor for the now G-Zero world that we live in, with global leaders incapable of speaking honestly about, let alone solving, the existential crises facing our planet.  How far you find it overstays its welcome and wears on your nerves depends on your tolerance for its bonkers style.  

There are some brilliant set pieces. Cate Blanchett in an appalling German accent asks the Canadian PM if he wants a neck massage like a cheapo seduction scene.  The Canadian and Japanese PMs attempting to sail to help to a faux-moving Enya song. Charles Dance singularly failing to even attempt an American accent for his role as US President. Alicia Vikander in an hilarious cameo as the European Commission President in deep communion with the Brain. And for my money, the funniest of all is the cynical and pragmatic British PM, played by Nikki Amuka-Bird - the audience's way into this nuts story.  

I felt like the story outstayed its welcome but I liked its audacity and tone.  The more extreme the concept, the shorter the running time should be.

RUMOURS is rated R and has a running time of 104 minutes. It played Cannes 2024 and opened in October in the USA and earlier this month in the UK.