Rumours Movie Review
When you’re expecting to watch a horror-thriller film centered around politics, there’s already a few that come to mind. Whether it’s Blumhouse’s gorefest in The Purge films or something more action-based like They Live, you’re most likely looking forward to the gruesome bloodshed. However, for something like Guy Maddin and Evan and Galen Johnsons’ Rumours, the scares still arrive all the same in very avant-garde ways. It tries to handle so many ideas that could potentially work, but this film goes through a lot of hoops to make everything make sense.
On the political side of things, Rumours’s diverse cast of characters, being the leaders of the world, have to come up with a provisional statement during a global crisis. From this concept alone, you’d think it could lead to some “murder mystery” situation and sure, it kind of does that. However, when the film gets past the regal-ness of the political drama, it truly gets supernaturally crazy. From confronting undead spirits of earth to an artificial intelligence to a literal giant brain, these world leaders are certainly in over their heads.
For a conceptually wild movie like Rumours, each main cast member is absolutely charming with the material given. In particular, Cate Blanchett does a great job portraying the kind-hearted, yet lustful Hilda Ortmann. There are, honestly, a couple of funny off-handed jokes that Blanchett executes with a perfect amount of playful concern. Her chemistry with the rest of the cast, particularly with Roy Dupuis’s Maxime Laplace, was absolutely delightful even though this film constantly goes back and forth.
Besides Blanchett’s Hilda, the rest of Rumours’s characters certainly vary both in personality and in role. Dupuis’s Maxime takes a more restrained position amongst the leaders given the emotional hardships he’s gone through. On the outside, he tries to present himself as a leader, but he’s continually desperate for love. The “mediator” between the two is Nikki Amuka-Bird’s Cardosa Dewindt, whose alert, “straight man” attitude toward the film’s comedic shenanigans rounds out the core three.
Then, you have the oddball pairing of Charles Dance and Ronaldo Ravello as the leaders of the United States and France respectively. While it’s fun seeing the two develop a friendship, they’re mostly there to be the old rambling duo until the final third of the film. Ravello’s Antonio is a supportive aid whose running gag is basically just meat while Dance’s Edison is a satirical play on what you’d call a “boomer politician.” Yet, Rumours doesn’t try to paint them as bad guys; sure, they might be flawed, but they still respect each other.
Meanwhile, both Denis Ménochet and Takehiro Hira are the more moderate-minded members of the group. Their characters are essentially both yes-men initially, but as their situation gets more out of hand, they’re able to develop their own independence. Though Hira’s Tatsuro doesn’t necessarily change in character, Ménochet’s Sylvain takes on this unique transformation gradually. Sylvain becomes much more philosophical in this absurdly humorous way, even if it doesn’t make sense until those final moments.
With Rumours handling multiple ideas and genres all at once, it also tries to test out multiple visual styles to varying degrees of success. At certain points, the film goes from being intense and scary to raunchy to pessimistic all by making these extreme lighting choices. There’s one particular scene where the lighting really emphasizes the mood, which reflects on a particular duo here. It can give you whiplash while you’re still trying to comprehend everything that’s being shown and explained.
Yet, Rumours really pops out by being consistently wacky with its thematic ideas. At its core, the film wants to show that no matter the background or the personality, we can work together towards a solution that works for everyone. The circumstances might change, as seen with how the film presents its multiple obstacles, yet we must be resilient. However, with Rumours’s focus around its dark comedy and bizarre plotlines, this important concept nearly gets muddled by everything. Nonetheless, most of the characters and their humor lands to make this a satisfying watch.
Rumours does a great job at being a darkly comedic film thanks to its stellar cast and satirical humor. Though it tries to wrangle multiple elements, whether it be the supernatural or a technological threat, Rumours still has a strong enough theme to keep itself cohesive. Sure, it may get ludicrously insane at times because of its episodic nature, but the film has a deeper meaning that has further potential to be explored. Perhaps by focusing on one thing at a time could Rumours’s message be understood and unite its audience.
Rumours will arrive in theaters Friday, October 18.
Rating: ★★★½
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Christopher Gallardo is a freelance entertainment writer and critic. While not running The Reel Roller, Chris can be found writing reviews and breakdowns on all things films and TV. Outside of entertainment writing, he’s currently taking classes for a Bachelor’s of Science with a minor in Digital Media & Journalism. Plus, he loves Percy Jackson, animated films and shows, and Fallout! Follow Christopher on Instagram & X.