Elijah (film)

Elijah is a Canadian comedy-drama television film which was directed by Paul Unwin and broadcast by CTV in 2008. An account of the life and career of Elijah Harper, the provincial MLA in Manitoba whose stand on First Nations rights brought down the Meech Lake Accord in 1990, the film blends animated and scripted segments to present Harper's political journey as a Swift-style satire reminiscent of Gulliver's Travels.

The film stars Billy Merasty as Harper, Tina Louise Bomberry as his wife Elizabeth, Currie Graham as Gary Filmon, Glen Gould as Phil Fontaine, and Maury Chaykin as Howard Pawley, as well as Michael Peterson as Harper in childhood, Gregory Dominic Odjug as Harper in his teenage years, and Lorne Cardinal, Morris Birdyellowhead and Gary Farmer in supporting roles.

Production
The film went into production in summer 2006, with some shooting in the real Legislative Assembly of Manitoba building.

Distribution
The film premiered theatrically at the 2007 Calgary International Film Festival, and was screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival and the ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival, prior to being broadcast by CTV on May 25, 2008.

Critical response
John Doyle of The Globe and Mail wrote that "the movie's jaunty tone doesn't always click - it sags into sentimentality in the middle - but it's often gloriously funny and smart. The scenes in which Mulroney's posse tries to shift Harper's position are hilarious. Maury Chaykin is excellent as former Manitoba premier Howard Pawley and Glen Gould does a ferocious turn as native leader Phil Fontaine. Written by Blake Corbet and directed by Paul Unwin, Elijah is one wonderful attempt to make the Meech mess a scorching comedy, but anchored by one truly principled man."