TL;DR – A film that had a premise for half an hour that is stretched out to a feature and even a cast list like this can’t fix that central issue. Surrealism for just the sake of being surreal.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a screening of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Rumours Review –

Before we start, a little history about me. My professional qualifications are in International Relations and the exploration of politics on a global level. So, when I got invited to a horror/mystery/comedy/weird film set during a meeting of the G7. You can imagine I was excited because this was right up my alley. Well, that was until I actually got to watch the film.

So, to set the scene, several calamities are happening in the world, so the G7 leaders Hilda Ortmann (Cate Blanchett), the Chancellor of Germany; Edison Wolcott (Charles Dance), the President of the United States; Maxime Laplace (Roy Dupuis), the Prime Minister of Canada; Sylvain Broulez (Denis Ménochet), the President of France; Cardosa Dewindt (Nikki Amuka-Bird), the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Antonio Lamorte (Rolando Ravello), the Prime Minister of Italy & Tatsuro Iwasaki (Takehiro Hira), the Prime Minister of Japan. As the leaders walk to a private dinner to discuss the proposal from the meeting, they discover a bog body has been found on the property. But as they sit for dinner, suddenly, they can’t contact any of their staff and soon realise that they are all alone.  

Look, this is a film that was more frustrating than anything else, but before I get into what that is because it is a bit spoilery, some moments intrigued me. The first is the cast, who are honestly outstanding. There are some genuinely bizarre moments in this film that only work because of the commitment of the cast. They all have a weird bond that works in ways that I can’t really explain, but it is there. Roy Dupuis probably gets to have the most growth throughout the film, given how low his character starts things at. He also might be the focal point for the most bonkers moment in the movie. Cate Blanchett sort of exists as the anchor for the film and is very much channelling Angela Merkel. Finally, some of the bizarre moments are just a wild blast to watch in the moment.

However, I walked out of Rumours feeling more frustrated than anything else. However, to do that, we need to talk about elements that will take us into [SPOILER] territory. To begin with, the first issue is that this film’s one joke is that conferences like the G7 are nothing but talk sessions and do not do anything meaningful. If they had picked any organisation that had fractious components like the Security Council or International Whaling Commission, then that would have worked. But the G7 tend to be nations that get along well enough that they can get stuff done. But more than that, the fact that international conferences are just meaningless talkfests is the only thing this film has to say. That one joke had enough strength for a short film, but you will get tired of it long before the credits roll.

Secondly, and this might be more subjective and might not be a big deal for you. However, there are absolutely no answers for you here. Rumours is a film that will throw so many different things at you, almost like a cinematic shotgun. However, it refuses to explore what pulled the trigger. This becomes more and more frustrating as the film goes on, and they get weirder and weirder with their references. You will not know what is going on, how it is happening, or why. They just want you to go on vibes, and vibes will only take you so far.  

In the end, do we recommend Rumours? Unfortunately, not. The cast and scenario had so much potential. It just never went anywhere. You do get used to films like The Hitman’s Bodyguard not getting the details of international organisations right, but at least they meant well. But this did all of that and then had nothing to say of any depth. Surrealism for just the sake of being surreal. If you liked Rumours, we would recommend to you Fallout.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you watched Rumours?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Rumours
Directed by – Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson & Galen Johnson
Written by – Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson & Galen Johnson
Music by – Kristian Eidnes Andersen
Cinematography by – Stefan Ciupek
Edited by – John Gurdebeke, Evan Johnson & Galen Johnson
Production/Distribution Companies – Square Peg, Buffalo Gal Pictures, Maze Pictures, Elevation Pictures, Plaion Pictures & Universal Pictures
Starring – Cate Blanchett, Charles Dance, Roy Dupuis, Denis Ménochet, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rolando Ravello, Takehiro Hira, Zlatko Burić & Alicia Vikander
Rating – Australia: MA15+; Canada: 14A; United Kingdom: 15; United States: R