Matthew Rankin's Brian Mulroney Doc Shows Politician 'Charming the Whole Country Into Oblivion'
Matthew Rankin uses archival footage and satire to trace Mulroney’s rise, with the National Film Board of Canada producing the documentary.
- On Tuesday, September 15, 2026, the documentary 'Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney' premieres at the Royal Alexandra Theatre as part of the Toronto International Film Festival's Midnight Madness section.
- Filmmaker Matthew Rankin portrays Canada's 18th prime minister through a satirical collage of archival footage, charting his flamboyant ascent from Baie-Comeau to power through television nostalgia and national mythmaking.
- Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, the film utilizes close to 80,000 individual pieces of film and video, which Rankin curated from approximately 20 terabytes of archival material.
- Rankin characterizes the film as a history of image construction rather than a traditional biopic, describing Mulroney as "kind of duplicitous at times" and an "astonishing, brilliant political genius."
- Following the Toronto debut, the film screens at the Atlantic International Film Festival in Halifax, Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival, Lunenburg Doc Fest, and Vancouver International Film Festival.
11 Articles
11 Articles
‘Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney’ Review: Matthew Rankin’s Psychedelic Tour Through Mid-Century Canadian Conservative Politics
The Edmonton Journal described the 18th Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney as follows: “The eyes are Paul Newman blue. His hair has the swoop of the Robert Redford style and the voice the resonance of a Lorne Greene school of broadcasting. The jaw is by Gibraltar.” As hyperbolic as that commentary may read, those photogenic qualities made Mulroney uniquely well suited to television, which helped him ride an international wave of neoliberal …
The Toronto Star
Loonie PoliticsMatthew Rankin’s Brian Mulroney doc shows politician ‘charming the whole country into oblivion’
TORONTO - In 1990, Brian Mulroney's upturned face was sculpted onto the languorous body of a swine, like one of Odysseus's men transforming under Circe's spell. The figurine's gaping maw
Winnipeg Free Press
Matthew Rankin's Brian Mulroney doc shows politician 'charming the whole country into oblivion'
TORONTO - In 1990, Brian Mulroney's upturned face was sculpted onto the languorous body of a swine, like one of Odysseus's men transforming under Circe's spell. The figurine's gaping maw was carved into a coin slot, ready to gobble up Canadians' hard-earned loonies and toonies.
Brian Mulroney Doc To Premiere In TIFF's Midnight Madness Section
Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, attended the opening of the Toronto Film Festival last year, helping introduce the documentary John Candy: I Like Me. This year, a former Canadian PM, Brian Mulroney, is appearing at TIFF, in a manner of speaking. The Conservative Party politician, who served from 1984-1993, stars in Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian […]
TIFF Review: Matthew Rankin’s Ladies and Gentleman, Brian Mulroney Succumbs to Smugness
“Politics is show business for ugly people.” — Roger Stone Canada seems boring to most, but I was recently trying to make it sound more interesting to an American friend by explaining the nation’s current nepo-baby predicament. The respective sons of the country’s two most prominent post-war Prime Ministers, Pierre Trudeau and Brian Mulroney, had […] The post TIFF Review: Matthew Rankin’s Ladies and Gentleman, Brian Mulroney Succumbs to Smugness…
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