H2O (2004) (TV)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Charles Binamé

Writers:

Paul Gross (co-writer)
John Krizanc (writer)

Release Date:

31 October 2004 (Canada)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

A dead Prime Minister. A country in turmoil. A battle for Canada's most precious resource...

Plot:

When Canada's Prime Minister drowns in what appears to be a boating accident, his son takes office and is drawn into a deceptive world of power and corruption.

Plot Keywords:

Canada | Prime Minister | Conspiracy | Ottawa Ontario | Police

Awards:

3 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Paul Gross	...	Thomas David McLaughlin
Leslie Hope	...	Sgt. Leah Collins
Guy Nadon	...	Marc Lavigne
Martha Henry	...	Julia McLaughlin
Callum Keith Rennie	...	Don Pritchard / Lt. Daniel Holt
Michael Murphy	...	U.S. Ambassador Conrad
Barry Flatman	...	Cam Ritchie
Louise Portal	...	Marie Lavigne
Philip Akin	...	U.S. President Monroe (as Phil Akin)
Macha Grenon	...	Lavigne's Aide
Peter MacNeill	...	Police Chief
Jeff Pustil	...	Deever
Tantoo Cardinal	...	Grand Chief Katie Blackfire
Diego Matamoros	...	Doug McKay
Jeff Seymour	...	Nate Morgan

Also Known As:

H2O: The Last Prime Minister (Canada: English title) (long title)

Runtime:

177 min | Canada:240 min (including commercials)

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Greece:K-13 | Canada:14

Filming Locations:

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Whizbang Films Inc.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the Fort Rupert Royal Canadian Legion hall, the barkeep is wearing a ball cap. Legion protocol strictly forbids the wearing of hats within the building.

Quotes:

Thomas David McLaughlin: I'm the Prime Minister of Canada! You're just businessmen!

Movie Connections:

Followed by "The Trojan Horse" (2008)

Not bad, it's fiction remember

Paul Gross stars in this self-styled Canadian political thriller which aired on CBC over the past few nights. The two-part series originally aired last fall but I forgot to catch it, and heard little in its aftermath. It's a rare thing - a Canadian political thriller... I'd describe it as vaguely similar to House of Cards (the exceptional 1990 British political black comedy), with hints of the ridiculousness of Canadian Bacon and even X-Files.

Upon the death of his father, the Prime Minister in a suspicious canoeing accident, Tom McLaughlin-- a seemingly decent chap-- outwits rival and unlikeable snorer Marc Lavigne (right away, that name stuck out as bit too much like mass-murderer Marc Lepine) to become Canada's new PM. Backed by a media baron-- part of a trio of corporate bigwigs with mischievous smiles-- McLaughlin rides a wave of popularity to start hatching a subversive scheme. It becomes apparent McLaughlin is about to sell Canada down the river by exporting water through a far-fetched (or is it?) water pipeline from Northern Quebec. It's necessary, he claims, or else the increasingly parched United States will end up taking it anyway. But it turns out McLaughlin has a gun to his head, and is a mere puppet for a pseudo-Bilderberg all-powerful group of old men who control the world.

Strangely this group seems to only have the resources for one secret agent: the elusive Daniel Holt, who is everywhere and nowhere. He knocks off cops who get too close to the truth, wiretaps the Solicitor General (Lavigne), tortures wrongfully imprisoned muslims, and recruits Cree youth in Northern Quebec for devious plots.

Meanwhile, the head good cop Sgt. Leah Collins, played by Leslie Hope, is busy figuring out who Holt is and trying to establish what really happened to McLaughlin Senior during his canoeing trip 'accident'. Mild flirtations with PM Tom McLaughlin and finally a pact with Lavigne bring her closer to the truth.

The opinions we form of the various characters are in a state of flux; with the burning question being: If your neighbour were thirsty would you not give them a glass of water? It would be nicer if the plot had a smoother flow - more a Saint Lawrence than Hell's Gate. But the film editing, sound and cinematography are luscious. Night time fly-by shots of Parliament Hill are interspersed with evil looking Gargoyles and the Rideau Canal.

Gross by far steals the show, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the heck he's going to turn into John Diefenbaker in the upcoming Tommy Douglas Story.

The conclusion is unsatisfying, but it's hard to say what would have been a happy ending. It's almost as if the inevitable, the unavoidable, the manifest destiny took hold. All in all, any political nut would find this at least mildly amusing. Somehow though even with the explosions, blackouts and murders this film doesn't rate with the 2002 mini-series Trudeau.

Someone mentioned that McLaughlin could not have possibly become Prime Minister in such a short thing. Well, actually one doesn't have to even be elected to be Prime Minister, legally (remember John Turner, briefly 1984). And this movie does take place over a period of many many months. This is fiction, folks, and it's not bad. It's by no means a great film, but it's entertaining.