Rumours
Updated: 17 hours ago
The horror-comedy fails in both its genres
Political satires have become harder to pull off due to the rise of populism and incompetence that strong democracies have witnessed. This has left only the most extreme satirists, such as Saturday Night Live (1975-) standing in the satire arena; the likes of Veep (2012-2019) and Wag the Dog (1997) would only serve as documentaries. A new film seeks to poke fun at democratic leaders, however: Rumours (2024).
Rumours takes place during a G7 meeting, a reunion of some of the seven biggest democracies. They include the old and sleepy President of the United States (Charles Dance), the hosting German Chancellor (Cate Blanchett), a despondent Canadian Prime Minister (Roy Dupuis), the bombastic French President (Denis Menochet), the jittery British Prime Minister (Nikki Amuka-Bird), a clueless Italian Premier (Rolando Ravello), and the bored Japanese Prime Minister (Takehiro Hira). At their meeting in a secluded German estate, an ancient burial ground is discovered, and its disinterment causes strange things to occur.
Rumours is directed by Canadian filmmakers Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, and Guy Maddin. The trio’s third film is produced by horror master Ari Aster, and the specter of the horror comedy hangs over the film. However, while Rumours is categorized as a horror-comedy, it has little of both.
Perhaps due to budget constraints, much of the action and scary sequences, are recounted by survivors as they occurred off screen, and the few moments where actual spooks or menace lurk, come off as rote and stale. The humor is uneven, starting with chuckle-inducing jabs at countries’ stereotypes and commentary on the vague language politicians use. However, as the film’s runtime ticks on, you sense these are the only two things that Rumours has to say. Characters are never developed and the diagnosis of current geopolitics is woefully misguided.
The pessimism with which Rumours regards the leadership of the most advanced democracies is distorted by a failure to grasp any element of geopolitics. Leaders are shown to be bumbling and clueless, the Italian incarnation particularly insulting, and it shows this to be the main cause of the world’s problems. Thrown out the window are complex issues such as Japan’s ageing population, Britain’s exit from the EU, or France’s over-regulated economy as examples of each country’s main problems. Rumours doesn’t take time to find nuance in its commentary, instead issuing a blanket complaint instead. Now, blanket statements can be made with credible theories facing these democracies such as disinformation, a rise of populism, or global migration patterns, but the filmmakers don’t seem to have bothered to do any research into current geopolitics.
Rumours also strains with the fantastical jumps viewers must take, such as claiming that leaders of these countries work on drafting a statement of their conclusions as if that work isn’t handled by aides and speechwriters. The entire affair reeks of a 5th grader’s concept of how international meetings work. While it might make sense to simplify elements of the political process to facilitate commentary, these inaccuracies pile up so that Rumours fails to retain any credibility to comment on politics at all.
Aside from the childish conclusion as to why current democracies are unpopular, Rumours fails in other narrative elements. The mystery as to the cause of strange events is never satisfactorily explained, concluding in an indecisive finale that involved both AI and zombies. Characterizations, meanwhile, are woefully inadequate; Dance is reported to have voiced his annoyance with his American character. The British performer was asked to retain his English accent while playing the US President, with no explanation given in the film whatsoever. Why? The filmmakers claim it’s a further commentary on international dysfunction, to me it seems like incompetence.
The cast is largely left to their devices, hamming up the comedy to an absurd degree. Blanchett stands out with her Angela Merkel impression, but it was sad to see talented actors the likes of Dance, Hira, and Alicia Vikander, who plays the EU Parliament President, wasted in inconsequential roles.
In the end, Rumours is an intriguing premise that is never fully developed into a story. The narrative is in the first rough of draft stage, with the comedy, political commentary, and satire only crafted with the depth of a late-night brainstorm. Current political satire might be too difficult to pull off in film anymore, at least when filmmakers have done no research into the current state of politics.
3.8/10
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