Trudeau

The 1960s-1970s pastiche style of this telefilm was so very well accomplished that it made me realize again why I HATED films of this era so much--the semicoherent lets-pretend-we're-tripping mise en scene, the syrupy musical interludes, the overall style-over-substance approach. But then around the three-quarters point I realized how RIGHT this approach is to this particular story. What "Trudeau" says to me is that Trudeau was put into office because he seemed to fit the style of the times--as one of his handlers terms it at the beginning of the film, he's "sexy"--but, as is demonstrated over and over, he utterly lacked the stuff of a real statesman, as reflected not only in his fumbling of various Quebec separatist uprisings but in his personally and politically suicidal choice of the immature, abusive narcissist Margaret Sinclair as his consort. I found "Trudeau" painful to watch, especially the scenes in which the aging Trudeau is browbeaten and humiliated by his hystrionic child-wife, the objective correlative of his former glamorous self, which contrasts with smarting irony with the progressive revelation of his inability to deliver the goods ("What do you want me to do about it?" he squawks to an aide, not the first or last revelation of this very hollow man's essential cluelessness.) I bought "Trudeau" wanting to see more of Colm Feore after being enchanted by his portrayal of Glenn Gould, another stupefyingly complex late 20th century Canadian mass media icon. Weirdly, and appropriately I think, Feore's Gould comes across as a far warmer, more authentic personality than his cold, brittle Trudeau. Polly Shannon's whimpery Margaret just made me want to slap her in the mouth, which I think is perfectly appropriate to the character. Most of all I just loved the way the director used Patrick McKenna in this film, not giving him that much to DO but posing him strategically near Feore at crucial moments, his chubby, mobile face and beautiful huge gray eyes telegraphing perfectly all the ideas and emotions that the fuzzy, chilly stick figure next to him just isn't grasping.

It's typical that the Canadian press (including 'The Toronto Star' and 'The Globe and Mail') would overhype a docudrama like this one. For one thing, it's about the beloved Pierre Elliot Trudeau, who, despite his flaws, seemed to capture the hearts of many a Canadian in a manner usually reserved for members of the Royal family, and maybe the Kennedys.

The more disturbing trend illustrated by the press of late is the tendency to write blindly self-congratulatory articles on Canadian content. As if the CRTC didn't limit our content choices enough as it is. Just look at all the glowing press that the Simpsons' "Toronto episode" unfairly garnered.

But back to the matter at hand. "Trudeau": the much hyped, much touted biopic miniseries starring a bevy of Canadian regulars, such as Colm Feore, R.H. Thompson, Patrick McKenna and, surprise, surprise, Don McKellar. Oh, and it stars Polly Walker as Margaret. Now, who is Polly Walker, and what's the big deal here?

Jerry Ciccoretti's direction is admirable at times, working with what must have been a limited budget. Instant giveaway: excess of stock footage from the CBC archives. At other times, however, Ciccoretti gives into cheap mimicry of better filmmakers (yes, Jerry, we get the Richard Lester references). This also involves a mind-boggling over-use of cheap video effects, including split screen, freeze frame, and "wacky font library" titling. All this >reminds me of that video project I got an A on in High School (I think it was about the school's lacrosse team).

Back to the acting. Colm (pronounced "Caw-lum," as Cynthia Dale so eloquently introduced him at the end of the first episode) Feore is passable in the title role. I've never been a huge fan of his overly affected Stratford festival style of acting. But he generally pulls it off. Still, it raises the debate of acting vs. mimicry. Where's the passion, Colm?

Polly Walker is gawdawful as Margaret, although one wonders as to how much she was given to work with, considering the muddled direction and the real-life woman she's modelled after.

The supporting actors generally do better, culminating tour-de-force performances by Eric Peterson as Tommy Douglas and Luc Proulx as Rene Levesque.

In the end, I'm sure that "Trudeau" will pull in record ratings for the ailing CBC. But it's still sub-standard entertainment. We need new directors, and new fresh talent to grace our TV screens if we want TV to survive in this country. Otherwise, we can tune in to better fare from the UK or, dare I say it, the US.

And the press better learn how to criticize, because this is imperative if our country wants to grow in the arts.

It is hard to find fault with this terrific effort...great script, great actors etc...but why do they screw up such a super show with dumb things. Although I am complaining about only a couple of parts of the show, I do not know why these things took place. For example, at the end of episode one, after a great re-telling of the P.Laporte-J. Cross FLQ crisis, they resolve it with a multi-screen ending, that had no narrative, and made absolutely no sense at all to those who do not know how it ended. It was as if the director and editor suddenly realized that they only had 60 seconds left to wrap it up and tried to do everything at once. If you were new to the story and did not know how the events unfolded then you would have been lost. Likewise at the end of the second episode, so 'genius' decided to use an actual speech by the real Trudeau, but made it into a grainy scratch filled piece of black and white film as if it had been film in the time of Laurier not Trudeau. What exactly was the point of that. The only other complaint I had was a scene in which Trudeau and his reporter 'friend' were coming up the steps into the Centre Block and unlike every other shot in the series, someone decided to jump cut it as if it were a rock video. Again, what was the point of interupting the flow of the show to do that (unless it was to cut out the person walking in front of them). However, on the whole, the show was great, the portrail of historical figures fascinating. John Turner, Mitchell Sharp and even John Munro came across very well as did Pelletier, Marchand and Lalonde to mention just a few. But then why did they not use an actor to portray Joe Clark, using newsreel footage for his parts and not anyone else, including Levesque. These examples of disjointedness were irritating as they all interuppted the narrative flow of a great show.

Rarely does a 3 hour political docu-drama have more than its subject matter to hold the viewer's interest. However, Canadian director Jerry Ciccoritti does not rely on his intriguing subject matter but tries many things to make "TRUDEAU" a ground breaking effort in this genre. His camera shots and techniques are staggering in their diversity. The film is full of visually effective montages, clever, seamless blending of real life footage and other arty editting techniques. The movie has as much cinematic flare as Trudeau had political flare. One such scene has Trudeau and his two henchmen(Duncan and Greenbaum) running and hiding from screaming girls, a parody of the Fab Four films. This was a neat summary of how Trudeaumania was as big as Beatlemania in the 1960s. Another original technique was the use of various time markers. During the FLQ crisis segment, which was a short 2 week event, Ciccoritti uses a shaded timeline to keep track of the event. During the Quebec Referendum/Constitution segment, a much longer event, the full date was displayed. Never have a seen a film with such sensitivity to the audience's potential problem of following events. Another thing that will cement this movie into Canadian lore is the cast. Patrick McKenna(RED GREEN SHOW) and Don McKellar(TWITCH CITY), more known for their comic style, get a chance to show their dramatic talents. The cast also includes veteran ensemble stars like Eric Peterson and R. H. Thomson(the King of Canadian mini-series). Ciccoritti's choice of Colm Feore(INSIDER, PEARL HARBOR) was perfect. Not only does Feore have star appeal, but his performance of Trudeau is award winning. Not only did he have the voice and mannerisms down pat but Feore vividly expressed the prime minister as a real character, not a caricature. Overall, this movie will delight Canadians and should have universal appeal as well.

Phenomenal performance from Colm Feore (who HAS lived in Canada for 40 yrs. despite being Boston-born). It is eerie, you almost believe it really is Trudeau, the voice, mannerisms are spot on. Peter Outerbridge is particularly strong as Jim Coutts. The mini-series in typical CBC fashion deifies Trudeau while ignoring the real harm he did to Canada: flawed constitution that left out one of the founding peoples agreement to it, rise of alienation & the threat of separatism, the ruin of the economy, staggering debt & out-of-control spending. Trudeau was reviled outside Canada as a world leader; Thatcher & Reagan wouldn't give him the time of day! That being said, he was a man of conviction & courage & the miniseries brings that element out well. The extra features on the DVD, particularly the 1968 Liberal leadership convention documentary, is particularly good in presenting the political intrigue & drama of the time. A movie well-worth seeing or owning for that matter!