By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
September 5, 1997
A documentary directed by Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson. Running time: 98 minutes.
Not rated (contains some profanity). Opening today at Facets Multimedia.
Shot over a nine-month period in Leichhardt, Australia, the documentary “Rats in the Rank” follows the absurd antics of 12 council members maneuvering to get their mayoral candidates elected to office.
The most devious candidate is Larry Hand, the incumbent mayor eager to win for a fourth consecutive year. He’s popular with his 60,000 constituents in the Sydney suburb, but can only remain in office if he wins the votes of seven of the 12 council members.
The beauty of this documentary is that Hand has no shame about baring his dishonest soul for the cameras. While several of the players are self-conscious about the crew filming them and worry about being portrayed unfavorably, Hand has no such qualms. After feeding a story to the press “off the record,” he chortles at the camera and delivers one of his many soliloquies meant to convince viewers that his questionable actions are justifiable.
He almost does.
A council member says of another candidate, “He’s got this maniacal gleam in his eyes. What are we going to do with him when he’s mayor?”
But she could have been talking about Hand.
The jeans-clad mayor is smarmy, but he’s also a riveting character full of political bravado.
Some of his colleagues have their moments as well, especially when they spar like nervous, inbred chihuahuas during council meetings. But watching the banal mechanics of small-town politics in operation grows old fast. Anyone who has ever attended a PTA meeting will understand.
The husband-and-wife team of Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson could have made a more effective film had they edited the documentary down to one hour. For the finale, when viewers learn the winner, it feels as if we’ve endured the entire nine-month campaign rather than a synopsis of the most interesting elements.
“What a terrible business politics is,” one of the film’s subjects admits.
Just try telling that to Hand. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
