Directed by Jerry Ciccoritti Music by Sandy Moore Edited by Dean Soltys | Written by Wayne Grigsby Cinematography Norayr Kasper | |
Starring Colm Feore
Polly Shannon | ||
Trudeau is a 2002 television miniseries dramatizing the life of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. It aired on CBC Television and was written by Wayne Grigsby and directed by Jerry Ciccoritti.
Contents
The miniseries was one of the highest-rated Canadian television programs of the year. It won several Gemini Awards, including Best Actor, Best Writing and Best Direction.
It follows Pierre Trudeau through the major events of his political mandates up to the patriation of the Canadian Constitution. A few of the major characters in the film (notably "Greenbaum" and "Duncan") are fictional, or composite characters.
A prequel, Trudeau II: Maverick in the Making, came out in 2005, examining Trudeau's early life.
Cast
Archival footage of Joe Clark, Knowlton Nash and Queen Elizabeth II is used in the film. Cynthia Dale and Peter Mansbridge also have small roles; Mansbridge plays himself.
Accuracy
In several interviews at the time of the premiere, actual Trudeau PMO bureaucrats commented on the general accuracy of the film with one major exception. Most characters in the film refer to Trudeau as "Mr. Prime Minister." This is improper Canadian government protocol; the prime minister is simply referred to as "Prime Minister", although it is not uncommon for the Prime Minister to be addressed by the former as well as the latter. It is notable that actor R. H. Thomson refused to use the scripted address and ad-libbed instead.