2020 has been a pretty bizarre year. Life hasn’t been normal for anyone and it has seemed as if every month has dished up some new and strange problem for us to contend with. Reflecting this haywire world that we have been inhabiting is the new release, The Twentieth Century, a curiosity that definitely fits in with this crazy year.
Set in the year 1899 on the cusp of the twentieth century, our story joins the rather odd Mackenzie King (Dan Beirne), a young man with delusions of grandeur. He has been raised to believe that he will one day become the leader of the Dominion of Canada, and the film charts his rise to power through ten different chapters. It’s no straightforward political drama however, as writer and director Matthew Rankin opts to unveil the plot within all the trappings of an absurdist comedy.
In all honesty, The Twentieth Century is one of the most eccentric movies that I have ever watched. There’s a heightened nature to everything, from setting to acting, that transports the viewer into a strange and unusual place where the rules of our world appear not to exist. It certainly is not your typical turn of the [last] century period piece, and despite its old world setting, feels quite modern at times. The unique quirkiness is the production’s strongest element, ensuring that this is a film that won’t easily be forgotten. It plays as if Wes Anderson and a Dune-era David Lynch sat down to make a more civilised Troma movie and Carry on film hybrid. The result – something that is completely wild, but strangely compelling.
The production design is stunning, the film feeling both of its period and yet also oddly futuristic and science-fiction. It’s an unusual concoction, but one that works as it helps set the offbeat tone from the outset. The acting is suitably classic Hollywood and over-the-top; subtlety is lost in favour of fully committing to the cause. Rankin also travels back to Shakespearean times for some of his casting choices as he has some of the female characters played by males and vice versa. It’s an interesting decision, and one that adds a kooky silliness, once again encouraging the audience to forget about the world outside.
With boot-sniffing fetishes and an ejaculating cactus being just two of the film’s curiosities, it’s safe to say that The Twentieth Century is one of the oddest releases of the year. A film with a very niche audience, The Twentieth Century is not one for the masses. Those outside of the target demographic will struggle to fully digest what the film is trying to say, but will remain entertained and slightly bewildered enough to have some fun with it regardless.
The Twentieth Century is available on Digital from 20th November 2020.
The Twentieth Century
Summary
Easily one of the oddest films released this year, The Twentieth Century perfectly captures the spirit of the bizarre, embraces it, and thus creates a film that you’ll likely never forget.
