As I watched Run This Town, I came to the amusing realization that I haven’t seen any film before than revolves around a Canadian political scandal, and the fact that the first one I see is mostly just about the circumstances that led to the fall from grace of Toronto mayor, Rob Ford, after information about a video featuring him smoking crack is leaked in the press is something I find weirdly quaint considering the type of sprawling conspiracies that tend to be covered in films like this. Though, the film does paint a revealing and unflattering portrait of the former mayor, and the socio-political context that allowed someone like him to thrive.
The film, which is written and directed by Ricky Tollman, is fairly ambitious for a project that obviously doesn’t quite have the vast resources of a studio picture, but still tries to capture the urgency of a 70s conspiracy thriller with the quick-witted banter of an Aaron Sorkin flick. It covers a number of character, representing different angles to the story. There’s Kamal (Mena Massoud), Ford’s aide, whose good intentions lead to him feeling the need to cover up the acts of the mayor, and how that affects the relationship he has with his new co-worker, Ashley (Nina Dobrev), who has a rather unpleasant encounter with Ford. Arguably the center of the whole affair is Bram (Ben Platt), a reporter who is tired of writing Buzzfeed style lists for a dying newspaper, and eager to do some real reporting, only to stumble into information regarding the mayor that could be his big break.
Tollman surprisingly doesn’t focus too much on Ford himself, who is performed by Damian Lewis, practically unrecognizable under a fat suit and heavy makeup. He is this enigmatic figure that occasionally pops up, though his presence is greatly felt, especially when it comes to the relationship he has with the city, which shows him as this “man of the people” type figure. It’s easy to see why the people close to him might want to keep his actions on the down low. The weight (if you’ll pardon the pun) of his importance touches on all the characters in a very clear and concise way, and it’s a dynamic that is something I’m sure many can connect with even today.
However, as the film goes on, it’s hard to shake off the feeling that there’s a little something missing. Not in terms of scenes, but just the connective tissue that can further build on the characters we’re following, and how it all comes together. The passage of time is off, with months seemingly passing by like it was only a couple days. There’s vague connections between certain characters that aren’t as clear as it’s supposed to be. It always seems like you’re only getting a few pieces of a much larger puzzle that the filmmakers simply don’t have the ability to explore on screen given the time and budgetary restraints.
Having done a little research after the film, I learned that there was some early criticism regarding the erasure of one Robyn Doolittle, a journalist who was essentially the one who broke the story about Rob Ford’s now infamous video. The problem? Doolittle is nowhere to be seen or mentioned in the film. It’s not necessarily the worst case scenario where Bram acts as a replacement because as the film goes on, it’s shown that he isn’t the one who breaks the story, though he certainly tries his best to do so. He just happens to be a fictional journalist who could have potentially broke the story, but ended up…not. The purpose of having a character like him lead the story is a touch puzzling. Perhaps it touches on the fickle nature of the news industry, and how important stories can take up so much time to get out there, and can often be destroyed for mundane or ridiculous reasons. However, if that was the greater point Tollman was trying to make, I don’t think it was effective.
However, Run This Town still manages to be a solid, engaging enough drama about a story that I didn’t know much about going in, and came out wanting to know more, which is probably the best thing one can say about for a film like this. It certainly doesn’t reach the heights of the films that Ricky Tollman is influenced by, but it knows how to keep the pacing snappy, and the information delivered in a way that is accessible, entertaining, and informative all at once. The performances from the cast are all solid, it’s made with a lot of style, and it thankfully doesn’t overstay its welcome. While it’s not quite as thorough with its subject matter as I would’ve preferred, it sheds a compelling light on a fascinating story that touches on the always relevant theme of speaking truth to power, and the cost of leaving the powerful go unchecked.