TIFF: The People Speak.

Unlike many of the A-list festivals, Toronto does not do the big celebrity jury thing to hand out their awards. So it's up to festivalgoers to vote and the Audience Awards result. This is why, roughly speaking, the TIFF winner usually goes on to Oscar success, popularity being the key to both honors. This year's winner The King's Speech can now follow the same path as famous films before it like Whale Rider, Precious or Slumdog Millionaire. We already suspected, long before it screened anywhere (it was among my Early Bird predictions in April) that this would be an Oscar hit.

Audience Awards
Feature: The Kings Speech by Tom Hooper
Can we just give Colin Firth the best actor statue now? Given the momentum from last year, don't you think there's no way they're not going to hand him the statue this year? We might be looking at a boring Best Actor race with no real competition, even though the nominations themselves will have plenty of competition.
runner up: The First Grader by Justin Chadwick
This one I hadn't heard of but it sounds inspirational enough to play well with Oscar, too. It's based on a true story of a Kenyan man who showed up on the first day that free primary education was offered, ready to be a student... at 84 years young. This is only Chadwick's second feature film. His first was The Other Boleyn Girl.

Midnight Madness: Stake Land by Jim Mickle
I love the poster so much I had to include it (pictured right). But even I -- who once loved all things vampyr -- am deadly sick of the fanged beasties given today's pop culture. There's vampires everywhere you look. These ones look like the bloody gross monster versions though and I prefer the kind that are beautiful (but still monstrous at heart).
runner up: Fubar II by Michael Dowse
Documentary: Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie by Sturla Gunnarsson
This is one of several current environmentally focused documentaries.
runner up: Nostalgia for the Light by Patricio Guzman
Will we see either of these titles in the documentary Oscar race? I can't even pretend to be able to describe this one for you.


Canadian Specific Prizes
Feature: Incendies by Denis Villeneuve. This will likely be the Canadian choice for Oscar submission for the Best Foreign Language Film race though nothing is official yet. Sony Pictures Classics is handling the release and they do good work with foreign fare... though unfortunately they almost never release them in the year of their Oscar eligibility (unless they're from Almodóvar) so we're looking at 2011 here.

Incendies

I've only seen one Villeneuve picture before, a short film called Next Floor, but it was very very impressive -- here's Nick's review from our time on the shorts jury in Nashville that year. Incendies is about twins who try to piece together their mother's last days in the Middle East could be a real contender. Keep an eye out.
First Feature: High Cost of Living by Deborah Chow.
Short: Les fleurs de l’age (Little Flowers) by Vincent Biron which is 18 minutes long and about schoolchildren (though it takes place in the summer)

FIPRESCI Critics Prizes
Discovery: Beautiful Boy by Shawn Ku. This film stars Maria Bello and Michael Sheen as the parents of a college student involved in a shooting massacre. I suspect we'll see this in 2011 now that Anchor Bay picked it up. I keep rooting for Maria to get another role as demanding / high profile as A History of Violence. Will this be it or does only a tiny release await?
Special Presentation: L'Amour Fou by Pierre Thoretton which is a film about fashion god Yves St. Laurent

The big takeaway news though, now that TIFF 2010 has wrapped, is that there were a lot of sales. Far more films found distributors than people were originally suspecting. The Los Angeles Times even called it a "flood" of sales. That's good news for us. If current official or rumored plans hold, we'll see Rabbit Hole this year from Lionsgate and sometime next year we'll get the Lincoln assassination courtroom drama The Conspirator from Lionsgate and Roadside as well as the father/son gay-themed drama Beginners starring Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer next year from Focus to name a few dramatic examples.

TIFF Capsules: Passion Play, Black Swan, 127 Hours and The Conspirator

My friend txt critic is completing his Toronto journey soon but he sent another batch of thoughts for your perusal. He starts by taking an against consensus stand.

PASSION PLAY
By far the most loathed and eviscerated film of the festival, Mitch Glazer's brazenly out there, 20-years-in-the-works labor of love is extremely slow paced, unafraid to be laughed at for its sincerity and ridiculousness, and -- though I seem to be alone on this -- perpetually interesting. The plot basically boils down to "Mickey Rourke falls in love with circus-freak-with-giant-wings Megan Fox, and has to fight to protect her from violent gangster Bill Murray," so yes, it's silly, but I admired its audacity. Rourke is very very strong, Murray is always fun to watch, and... dare I say it? I thought Megan Fox was *gasp* pretty good (though, again, alone on this). Based on the response, though, who knows if this will ever see the light of day outside of the festival circuit. (B)

That is the sad thing about festivals, even if you're wise enough to mostly see films without release dates (I've never understood why people see things that will be out within in a few weeks) some of them will remain things that only you have ever seen.

SUPER
Basically a rougher, sloppier, darker version of "Kick-Ass," James Gunn's homemade super 'heroes' flick has some moments of madcap dark humor, and a surprisingly solid central performance from Rainn Wilson, but it suffers from a severe imbalance of tone, bizarre flourishes that don't add up to much, and a perpetual mean-spiritedness that left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Ellen Page steals the movie with her childlike ADD energy and karate moves, but Liv Tyler and Kevin Bacon are squandered and seem like they wandered in from another movie. (C-)


127 HOURS
Danny Boyle's true story of survival has been received raputurously on the festival circuit so far, but while I liked it overall, I can't really jump on the bandwagon of fervor. Boyle's energetic directorial style and a bravura physical performance from the normally boring James Franco go a long way towards keeping us involved; But at the end of the day, a guy with his arm pinned under a rock just isn't an inherently cinematic or compelling story, and the jittery editing and flashbacks and hallucinations -- while understandable on a conceptual level -- almost seem like a betrayal of the realities of the situation. Also, as good as Franco is, we never (or at least I never) feel like we know anything about this guy, or why we should have vested interest in his fate. That said, Boyle and Franco do keep us wrapped up in the goings-on, and there are about a half-dozen sequences (including the insanely intense climax) that are pretty remarkable... at least until the epilogue steps on the "uplifting" pedal a little too hard/disingenuously to try to push this into Slumdog territory. It's a solid effort, and will likely go over big with audiences, but I was only intermittently feeling it. (B / B-)

Interesting take. Especially in regards to the betrayal of a gut wrenching terrifying monotony of the experience as it must have been to live. I'm nervous about this one primarily because I thought Slumdog was only OK and it actively started annoying me when people wouldn't shut up about it. Will we see a repeat of that mass hysteria? And if so does that mean Boyle will get to do anything he wants from now on?

And finally txtcritic disputes the positive notices for Robert Redford's Oscar bait and joins many in loving Darren Aronofsky's latest.

THE CONSPIRATOR
Robert Redford's dull as dishwater History Channel re-enactment depicts the true but little known story of Mary Surratt, the mother of the accused collaborator of John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. While it's admirable that Redford would like to teach us all about a oft-overlooked footnote in history, he sure as hell doesn't do much to make it engaging, even with a pretty fantastic cast including Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Tom Wilkinson (sporting ridiculous old-timey mutton chops) and Kevin Kline. History nuts may be enraptured, but as an actual movie, it never breaks out of its dry, dusty courtroom procedural paramaters. All I could think of during the film (especially with the presence of Tom Wilkinson) was "John Adams" and the comparison is certainly not flattering. Blech. (C-)


BLACK SWAN
I hate to pile on more advance hype, but Aronofsky's much-anticipated psychological ballet thriller is truly staggering. A tightly-wound examination of the obsessive quest for artistic perfection, the film packs in one staggering sequence after another, and never allows us to breathe easy or get comfortable. Simultaneously beautiful and grotesque, it'll likely offput as many as it seduces, but this is a movie that will still be held on a pedestal a decade or two down the line. The comparisons being made to "The Red Shoes" and "The Wrestler" are apt, but there are strong traces of "There Will Be Blood" in here as well, in regards to the extremes to which it burrows into its central character. Portman does easily her best work here, carrying the entire film on her shoulders, and Winona Ryder and Barbara Hershey are terrifying perfection. (A)

So... that's the first I'm hearing of someone really mentioning Noni. Could this be a comeback of sorts (I had assumed it was a teensy-tiny cameo since I'm purposefully not reading reviews I don't know one way or the other)? Since this film is not playing the New York Film Festival I will have to wait along with the rest of you until December 1st.

Come again?!? I can't have heard the release date correctly. I'm dying here.

Noni, Aronofsky, Natalie, and Barbara Hershey

Just for fun, here's what the Black Swan team wore to their big Canadian premiere. Mila Kunis did not attend.
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Lev @ TIFF: "What's Wrong With Virginia", "Never Let Me Go"

Lev, checking back in. Early mornings and late nights have prevented me from fulfilling my Film Experience duties, so capsule reviews will serve the purposes best. Starting with . . .

The Illusionist which is an achievement in many ways. What makes it so remarkable is its focus on every day sadness. Whereas most animation relies on comedy to engage, Chomet transmits his ideas through small gestures and simple, delicate drama, foregoing laughs for emotion. Every character, plot point, musical cue and lush painting is working in favour of this sadness without ever forcing it or revelling in it; It's a simple story evoked with impassioned feeling . A-

Dustin Lance Black's What's Wrong With Virginia? attempts numerous forays into the group psyche of town and religion but fails. Inconsistency is the word here; Characters come and go, narration is shoved in from different perspectives for no apparent reason. Jennifer Connelly is stuck doing her best Holly Hunter impression, approximating Wanda Holloway without being realistically nuts or even funny. Black, the Director, seems to have little idea how build through composition or montage, but that doesn't excuse Black, the writer, from starting his film with the end. C-

[Editor's Note: Apparently Virginia? is getting critically knocked around quite a lot at the festival. Movie|Line interviewed Dustin Lance Black about the unpleasant response. Good interview]

Predicated upon the intriguing idea of redheads as a discriminated minority, Romain Gavras' Our Day Will Come is an uneven mixture of bold filmmaking and bad decisions. The film stars Vincent Cassel as a psychologist and Olivier Barthélémy as a bullied teen. Clearly the work of a first time director, Gavras has strong ideas that don't always seem thought out as well one would like. Particular moments seem needlessly mean-spirited giving the film a cruel edge that it isn't always justified. Still, it's heady, compelling filmmaking that shouldn't go unnoticed. B-

Of the films mentioned here, Never Let Me Go surely requires the least introduction. Much has been made about plot particulars but they hardly seem worth noting; The sci-fi elements are rooted to a present reality and explained without much fuss which allows the characters to move to the forefront. There's no dwelling on its high-concept premise so it's just one step away from other high-end British productions (not that this is to its detriment). Romanek's form has improved, but the persistent score and unnecessary narration often feel perfunctory. It's the power of the story and performances, particularly Andrew Garfield who takes every gesture and line and tilts it into something unique and devastating, that make Never Let Me Go so emotionally satisfying. B


I'll be back as soon as possible, hopefully with notes on Of Gods And Men, Meek's Cutoff, Blue Valentine and Uncle Boonmee.

Imaginary Actress Wars

Weird but true confession: Whenever I look at photos from film festival press conferences, I always end up imagining that it was one big press conference with all of the movie stars and films represented at the same table. This can lead to weird imaginary resentments, unspoken battles and other duets.


I mean what would Nic' & Hil' even have to say too each other? Not that Hilary wouldn't feign amiability and Nicole wouldn't glare frostily. Maybe they'd talk about Best Actress wins? It's the only thing they have in common.


And what does Juliette Lewis think of Vera Farmiga? Or maybe she's just wondering when Vera is due or what it's like to kiss George Clooney or maybe why they both don't get first choice of every movie script in town since they're so uniquely talented.

Perhaps you can make better sense of these imaginary mash-ups in the comments.

This message has been brought to you by ADD and afternoon boredom.

Hilary Swank Nicole Kidman

TIFF Capsules: Let Me In, Tamara Drewe, The Illusionist and Stone.

Normally my friend txtcritic who must remain anonymous just, well, texts me. Usually in the form of pithy sentence long reviews or moviegoing observations. But this time he sent capsules of his Toronto experience thus far. Enjoy.

"The Illusionist" shifts downgear from the infectious exuberance of "Triplets of Bellevile" to a more melancholy, low-key thing. It's largely lovely and endearing, but leaves one with a lot more to admire than to get caught up or involved in (though many others seem to be ringing the "masterpiece" bells). The film's incremental snowballing cynicism will ultimately leave you either profoundly sad or oddly cold/disengaged. I'm somewhat between the two, but I'd like another viewing. B

Leigh, Manville, Ruth Sheen & Jim Broadbent @ TIFF

"Another Year" belongs in Leigh's upper-tier. Lesley Manville gets the showy role. At first, I was ready to cry 'overhyped' but her character subtly shifts and slowly grows more downtrodden in such a realistic way that it will make some uncomfortable with recognition. As a whole, the movie's consistently absorbing and lovely in character detail, but Manville's performance is what makes it a heartbreaker. A-

Consensus definitely places Lesley Manville as an Oscar nominee. We already know that Oscar voters respond to the women in Mike Leigh pictures. But will it be a lead or supporting campaign? That probably depends on how the studio feels about her winning chances in either category. I'll be seeing this picture in a couple of weeks. I loved Manville & Broadbent's chemistry together in Topsy Turvy (1999) and though they're not a couple this time I hope they have plentiful scenes together.

Dominic Cooper and Gemma Arterton at the Tamara Drewe premiere to your left. About Stephen Frears latest....

Based on the graphic novel by Posy Simmonds, "Tamara Drewe" constantly alternates between amusing and irritating. It's devoid of substance and aggressively quirky, while never being less than watchable. Certainly a change of pace for Stephen Frears, but makes you wonder why he decided to make this movie. Tamara (Gemma Arterton) is an empty vessel who barely registers as a character and the only one who gives a performance of any depth or complexity is Tamsin Greig as a cuckolded wife. B-/C+

Though it's to be commended for reaching for something beyond the conventional movie the trailers are selling, "Stone" only barely falls just short of Trainwreck designation. It has enough batshit moments to never lose your interest, but it's ultimately the very definition of a "mess"; there's nary a coherent thought in its head. No one seems to have been given much direction, and we're as dumbfounded as how we should feel about their characters as they seem to be. De Niro shows early signs that this will be his first inspired performance in years but then loses his way, and I never could quite get a handle on what Edward Norton or Milla Jovovich were doing. D+

Finally, the early buzz on Let Me In is good dashing our hopes that critics would crucify it. Now normally we don't root against pictures we haven't seen but why was it remade in the first place? Read on...

While "Let Me In" remains an 'unnecessary' remake throughout, Matt Reeves has crafted a surprisingly successful, respectful 'cover' version of the beloved "Let the Right One In." Aside from one or two (superb) sequences, and some amped-up suspense and gore, not much new has been added here. What most impresses is how the film avoids pretty much every possible expected "remake" decision where it could have pandered or "broadened" appeal or caved to general American sensibilities. Reeves absolutely nails the tone of the original film, imposes largely the same look (often even paying homage to the original shot compositions), and the perfectly cast chief actors -- Chloe Grace Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Richard Jenkins, Elias Koteas -- feel just right in their roles. Skeptics, put away your knives. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. A-

I'm not sure I'll be pleasantly surprised. So far I've read a couple of reviews proclaiming that it's better than the original and several going to lengths to describe how meticulously director Matt Reeves has transferred the visual aesthetics, mood and even the shots of the original. How is a carefully detailed copy ever better than an original? Or at least how does whatever praise it garners seem like more than an interception? Please to explain. Whatever we love about it, must be credited to the original, if what we love was originated there. It's like when some people wanted to give Zach Snyder credit for the visual aesthetics of Watchmen when what he was essentially doing was following the storyboard and character designs provided by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons in graphic novel form.

Kodi Smit-McPhee gets bullied in Let Me In

Sorry, sorry. I know I'm off consensus on this topic. But faithful remakes they make-a me crazeeeeeeeeeee. This is why, ironically, I respected Gus Van Sant's Psycho (1998) so much. See, that widely hated film purposefully billed itself as a recreation... it was, therefore, an honest aesthetic experiment and cinematic exercize rather than a movie made to replace another movie for people who can't bring themselves to read subtitles or watch older films.

Maybe I'll calm down once I've seen it if it's good. Maybe I just don't relish having to watch Chloe Moretz every time a film needs a teenager this coming decade. They're casting her in everything (8-10 projects already on the way) and even if I loved her more, I always enjoy a variety of faces in my moviegoing.
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TIFF: A Glimpse of Rabbit Hole Enthusiasm To Come?

Nicole Kidman and hubby hit Toronto for the film festival. I haven't seen more than one true review yet, but she wore Prada. Just Jared has pics from the premiere.

As for the review(s)? Well it's mostly tweets at this point though I expect more reviews to emerge soon. Let's start negative and get positive.

Negative

• @ioncinema "Belly flop for JCM. Wish entry point into story was at the 10month point. Wish final scene was extended by 90 mins."
• @matt_mazur "Rabbit Hole was really mediocre. Kidman was great but the rest uninspired. Let down"

Positive

• The Playlist "honest and powerful"
• Deadline NY "Nicole Kidman making a major artistic comeback"
• @PeterKnegt of IndieWire says 'Bad buzz be damned. Quietly haunting and very affecting. Very strong and naturalistic work from Nicole Kidman'
• @Scott_Tobias "B+) Movie about loss of a child, on no sleep and a week away from my own kid? No way this wasn't going to wreck me."
  
• @juanmgc "Powerful. Remarkable. Kudos to John Cameron Mitchell for pulling Kidman and Eckhart's best performance of both their careers."
  

Juan is the only tweeter among the positive voices that I wasn't really familiar with. But I never trust "career best" statements from anyone until I've seen the film in question. That's a common heat of the moment statement and with Kidman, that would basically position it as a best of the decade contender just as the decade has begun. But at any rate this is good news (so far) and we share @GuyLodge's feelings... "Very excited about early praise for Kidman: that "best of her generation" claim I've doggedly stuck to needs new foundations."

Finally, here's a tweet adressed to me from friend of TFE Katey Rich


There's also a strangely lengthy non-commital post at Awards Daily about why they haven't covered it much. The rest of what I've seen is various tweets with "quotes" around them as if more people have reviewed it than I can find. Curious. Perhaps my coffee isn't strong enough this morning or I have forgotten how to type words into search engines. Next!

A couple of clips hit the net too. In the best of these (thanks for the tip Kaye), we get a peak at the tense relationship between mom (Dianne Wiest) and daughter (Nicole Kidman) in a bowling alley...



There's also another clip about a grief support group in which I kept getting distracted by Aaron Eckhart's superhero chin. He really is a cartoon. In a good way, mind.
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Miscellania: Claude Chabrol (RIP), Venice (Post-Mortem), TIFF (First Impressions)

As you've undoubtedly heard, the French auteur Claude Chabrol passed away at 80. Both The Telegraph and Glenn Kenny have fine obits for your reading pleasure and if you can read French, Le Monde collects testimonials from many cinematic luminaries to honor him. I didn't know his career as well as I should but I quite liked both L'Enfer (1994) and the recent Ludivine Sagnier love/murder triangle A Girl Cut in Two. (The two of them are pictured to your left.) The prolific director's Le Beau Serge was the first French New Wave offering and we should all probably program ourselves mini-fests to catch up on his best work. Any suggestions? I'm reading these titles a lot: The Cry of the Owl, Les Biches and Le Boucher. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to catch up with any of his Isabelle Huppert collaborations either. Here's his available filmography from Netflix, LOVEFilm or GreenCine, depending on your rental pleasure.

A much less permanent goodbye, is the Venice Festival Post Mortem. Venice will be back next year... perhaps I should start saving those non-existent pennies? In Contention's Guy Lodge says arrivederci with some thoughts on the surprise jury decisions. But a lot of people are crying foul or, rather, "favoritism!" since Tarantino once dated Sofia Coppola and is also friends with Monte Hellman, who received a special award.

a disturbing still from Balada Triste de Trompeta

CineEuropa also shares a few interesting words from the double winner writer/director Alex de la Iglesias the man behind the "political slasher" Balada Triste de Trompeta aka The Last Circus. It sounds like he was on the (happy) defensive as early as the awards ceremony. His film was not one of the festival's well received entries, at least not critically.

Meanwhile TIFF is in full swing.

My day is a little crowded today with off blog happenings to investigate everything, but for now a few links. The Mickey Rourke / Megan Fox Passion Play has been declared a head-scratcher, Robert Redford's Lincoln assassination aftermath drama (aka The Conspirator) is actually getting good press and has modern political resonance. Unfortunately, it still needs a distributor to win Oscar buzz. Speaking of Oscar buzz, Miranda Richardson's definitely going to get it (the buzz I mean... not neccessarily the statue) for Made in Dagenham since the early reviews all single her out. Sally Hawkins could be a Best Actress contender as well but that awful snubbing for Happy Go Lucky might indicate that they just don't respond to her. I've adjusted my supporting actress page because it didn't look right to me anyhow and the virtual ink hadn't yet dried. Excitement is also building for the premiere of Rabbit Hole tomorrow -- here's a pic I hadn't seen from the set.

Finally...
Are you joining us for the next "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" roundups? All you have to do is...

1. watch the movie
2. post your favorite single image to your twitpic, blog, site, or other online shareable space and we'll link up.
   

Consider it an eye-candy focused mini blogathon each week. I've included the "instant watch" options if available for Netflix. Otherwise you have plenty of time to rent.

09/15 Pandora's Box (1929) instant watch
09/22 Se7en (1995, exact 15th anniversary!)
09/29 La Dolce Vita (1960) instant watch
10/06 Requiem for a Dream (2000, exact 10th anniversary!)
10/13 ...and then maybe a horror film for a possible Season 1 HMWYBS finale ... but which? (Trying to decide if we'll have the stamina to keep it up. Perhaps we should go monthly? Certainly more participation would invigorate. hint hint.)

Add your discerning eyeballs to ours to honor these fine movies.
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TIFF (False) Day One and "The Trip"

Lev Lewis from the Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival begins anew and with it my annual and indispensable musings. Well, scratch out indispensable and change musings to ramblings and you most likely have a good approximation of the coming week. Many thanks to Nathaniel for indulging me.

TIFF got off to a late start for me this year. A full two days of the festival had passed me by before I settled in for a late night screening of Michael Winterbottom's second film of 2010, The Trip. It was sad to be static for two days while news of goings on reverberated amongst the internet (Twitter can be cruel) but the film turned out to be a welcome way to start the journey.

The Trip follows the duo of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon (from the wonderful Tristram Shandy, a sort of companion piece here) as they begrudgingly navigate the upscale restaurants of Northern England together. There's little in the way of conflict or action; Brydon's a devout family man, wife and baby and all. Coogan, divorced and in a floundering relationship, seems intent on sustaining his youth, one night stands; a recurring theme in his life.



And there's no shortage of laughs here. Brydon and Coogan are uproarious together, nailing the pathetic competition as well as the subtle fondness the two occasionally share. Sadly, The Trip shares little of the inventiveness of Tristram Shandy. The film, which was shot without script, too often seems edited down from hours of improvisation so that the constant cutting too often mars the natural hilarity of the protagonists. Moments of intermittent food preparation, while mouthwatering, appear merely superfluous. And Winterbottom, by highlighting Coogan and Brydon's dissimilarities, strikes not honesty but cliche. Still, it's worth it if only for a genius bit involving a Michael Caine impression. B?

That's Lev for now. A busy day tomorrow consisting of The Illusionist, the acclaimed animated feature by Sylvain Chomet, Our Day Will Come, the debut of controversial music video director Romain Gavras and finally Dustin Lance Black's directorial debut What's Wrong With Viriginia?

I link through all this... before you wake up... so I can be happier

to be linked again with you... ♫

Kenneth in the (212) Fun couples at the Emmys. I hadn't seen some of these photos. Cute!
Just Jared The new cast of Dancing with the Stars. I don't watch it but I do find it amusing in a meta way that Jennifer Grey of Dirty Dancing fame will compete.
/Film Dozens of new photos from The Social Network


popbytes I so wish I was in Venice right now for Black Swan.* (yes more on this later today) In a perverse way I hope that Darren Aronofsky does take that X-Men Origins: Wolverine sequel.
The Playlist I forgot to mention that someone finally gave primo scene-stealer Ari Graynor a lead role. That someone was David Gordon Green. I guess he's just smarter than other directors.
USA Today Lindsay Lohan talking to Vanity Fair. She claims she's still a "damn good actress." You always were Linds so prove it again. You can't keep resting on 1998-2004.
Pop Eater Sofía Vergara's boyfriend is in politics? Huh, who knew.
Movie|Line ewwww. the bedbug epidemic has reached Toronto. Will it hurt the Film Festival?

Late tonight... the next episode of Hit Me With Your Best Shot features A Face in the Crowd. Are you joining in?

Robyn doing Björk whilst Björk watches. No pressure or anything.



"Hyperballad" is such a goodie.

Toronto Cometh

No time to digest this quite yet but the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF hereafter) has begun announcing their lineup which you can read at IndieWire. They'll be adding to that since they usually have hundreds of titles.

Though I doubt I'll be able to afford the trip up north this year, here's the ones I'm immediately excited about (for reasons either Oscar-watching or Other): Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan (pictured left), Robert Redford’s The Conspirator, Im Sang-Soo’s The Housemaid, Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech, Francois Ozon’s Potiche, Rowan Joffe’s Brighton Rock, Susanne Bier’s In A Better World and John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole.

TIFF 09 Coverage Concludes: Whip It, Mother and Child, Up in the Air

As promised here's the final installment of this year's Toronto Film Festival coverage. My anonymous friend (txt critic) saw 26 movies in half a week (I know!) and agreed to rank them all upon his return.

Here's his last few capsules and rankings

1. A Serious Man A+ (previous post)
2. Precious A (previous post)

3. Up in the Air A
The recipient of the most ejaculatory pre festival hype, I think Jason Reitman’s film’s low-key aspirations, and the small-scale story it tells, will perhaps not benefit from being oversold by everyone and their mother (most random Torontonians I waited on line with over the course of the week told me they thought it was “very good, not great”). So, while adding to the hype is to the movie’s detriment, I have to report that I completely swooned for the movie. I can already see the backlash coming, as the movie’s conventional story arc (man-as-an-island bachelor starts to see the value in having other people in his life) will be easy to bemoan. What really sells it all is that it avoids sentimentality and seems to come from a sincere place of honest emotion. It's also extremely funny, never losing its designation as a comedy, even as the resonance starts to approach around the midway point. What’s perhaps most impressive about Reitman’s direction is the handling of this shift and balance of tone: there aren’t “serious” beats, and the film doesn’t jarringly turn into a drama halfway through. It grows subtly more weighty as it goes along, until you're misty-eyed. George Clooney gives one of his best performances, while still staying in his comfort zone. There will be much bigger, showier performances than this, but the film wouldn’t work without his deft handling of the character’s arc. This isn’t a blow you away emotional movie or Juno-esque crowd-pleaser -- the two prevalent adjectives in my mind are “quiet” and “bittersweet” -- but it’s the sort of thing that’s going to entertain and touch a lot of people, and for once, actually earn the feelings it arouses. Oscar nominations for picture, director, actor and adapted screenplay all seem assured.

4. Mother and Child A
Following up Nine Lives and Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her with yet another female-driven ensemble film that happens to be his best yet, Rodrigo García’s latest is an openly emotional, fascinating, complex tale of three different women whose lives may or may not cross but, at the least, run parallel. All three (played by Annette Bening, Naomi Watts and Kerry Washington), have had their lives impacted by adoption -- Bening gave birth at 14 and put the girl up for adoption, Watts is her grown-up daughter who’s never met her mother, and Washington is infertile, trying to adopt with her husband. While you emerge from the theater extremely satisfied, no easy answers are found and the film acknowledges the messiness of the emotions / situations entailed in such situations.

Rodrigo García directs The Bening

Watts, Washington and Samuel L. Jackson (in a very small, understated role) are terrific, but the powerhouse performance here belongs to Bening. Starting the film out as an (seemingly) impenetrable bitch, Bening slowly makes us understand the character, and the decisions and emotions that have informed her life. By the time the film ends, you understand why this character ends up in the emotional place that she does. It never feels unrealistic or like a cheat. I don’t know if the film will get distribution before the end of the year but if it does, Bening will unquestionably be one of the five nominees for Best Actress.

5. Micmacs A-
6. The Road A-
7. The Informant! A- (previous post)
8. Harry Brown B+

9. The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans B+
One of the best midnight movies I’ve ever seen (a cult following is already assured), this Nicolas Cage vehicle from Werner Herzog -- using the title and pretty much nothing else from the Abel Ferrara-Harvey Keitel film -- has a warped, nutso energy running through it that had me frazzled when I wasn’t busy laughing. Cage’s off-the-wall performance as a cop addicted to pussy, coke, and back-pain pills is a live-wire tour de force, that for once, utilizes the actor’s over the top inclinations for a character they actually work for. The film’s truly a blast. You alternately gasp and laugh in disbelief, waiting to see what Cage (and Herzog) will do next. My personal favorite moment is a TWO-MINUTE-LONG shot of iguanas Cage is looking at, made all the more brilliant when it’s revealed by another character that said iguanas aren’t even there. This won’t play with Cage’s National Treasure fans, but this is an audience movie if there ever was one.

10. Antichrist B+ (previous post)

11. Whip It B+
Drew Barrymore’s roller-derby directorial debut is perhaps most surprising for the fact that it’s more than “fun,” it’s actually “good.” Showing an assured hand on her first go-round, Barrymore more than capably handles every aspect of the story without short-shrifting any of them: the sports elements work (the derby scenes, violence and all, are insanely fun and well-shot), the coming of age story and love story never feel like bullshit, and the family relationship drama actually proves touching.


Whip It never lets Marcia Gay Harden’s overbearing mother become a caricature or a shrill harridan and allows Daniel Stern, of all people, to be the film’s warm, fuzzy heart. Ellen Page is strong in the central role that can't have been well defined on the page, and the supporting cast is aces, most notably Kristin Wiig in her first screen role (besides, maybe, Ghost Town) that allows her to be as funny as she can be.

12. Perrier’s Bounty B+ (previous post)
13. The Trotsky B (previous post)
14. Daybreakers B
15. Chloe B (previous post)
16. Jennifer’s Body B (previous post)
17. Ondine B-
18. Leaves of Grass B- (previous post)
19. Good Hair B-

20. The Hole C+ (previous post)
21. Solitary Man C
22. George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead C (previous post)
23. The Joneses C (previous post)
24. Creation C- (previous post)
25. Get Low C-
26. Capitalism: A Love Story D+ (previous post)

Would you all join me in a rousing chorus of "Release Mother and Child!" I need The Bening back in my life. It's torture that festivals dangle these goodies and the distributors look around like "who, me?"

I hope you've enjoyed this year's TIFF coverage and please join me in thanking txt critic, MattCanada and Lev for sharing their thoughts! Maybe next year I'll even make it there myself.

4 More From TIFF: Chloe, Precious, Capitalism and Leaves of Grass

As promised, we're wrapping up the TIFF coverage with two more roundups from my friend txt critic. Here's four more capsules and late tonight, he'll be back with the ranking of everything he saw there, with eyes gleefully propped open for days on end.


On Precious

Deserving of the hype that’s been building since Sundance, Lee Daniels’ overwhelming emotional powerhouse was the one film I saw at the festival that earned a standing ovation (all the more notable when you take into consideration it was a public screening, not a gala). All you’ve been hearing is how “tough” and disturbing this movie is, and it is, but none of these descriptions quite prepare you for how humanistic and absorbing it is. The proceedings never turn into a film that needs to be “endured” or unbearable to watch. In other words, it’s rough going emotionally, but it’s not “good for you” cinema; it draws you in at every turn, and somewhat amazingly, there’s never an emotional moment that feels false, or a bridge too far. That said, there’s no chance of this turning into another Slumdog Millionaire populist sensation, as the material is just TOO dark and upsetting, and there’s no redemptive dance number to send people out of the theater smiling. I emerged from Precious drained, but oddly energized by what I’d just seen. I’d put money on nominations for Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Actress, Supporting Actress, Editing, Original Song. (A)

He'd put money on the nominations. Well, that won't have a great ROI right now, gambling wise since everyone is betting on this film in the Oscar race now. I wish it were opening tomorrow since I don't want the hype to overwhelm me more than the film.

On Leaves of Grass

Tim Blake Nelson’s first directorial effort since his unconscionably depressing Holocaust drama The Grey Zone is the sort of film that makes you marvel at the fact that it got made and scratch your head at what was going through the filmmaker’s head at the time he was writing it. It's daffy enough that you generally enjoy the ride. The story of two diametrically opposed twin brothers (one a redneck pot grower, one a philosophy professor at an Ivy League university), both played by Edward Norton, reunited against one of their wills, is largely a hit-or-miss affair. It's problems are the sort of thing that could easily be fixed if an eventual buyer forces Nelson back into the editing room. The dark comedy has some very funny moments, some carefully observed character touches, as well as comedy moments that go way too broad, occasional dead spots, and violence that’s way too piercing, jarring (and out-of-nowhere) for what’s surrounding it. What keeps it all worth watching throughout is Norton’s utterly transfixing and fun performance(s), among the actor’s best ever. (B-)

On Chloe

A genuinely good movie that devolves into merely a fun one in its last third, Atom Egoyan’s remake of the French film Nathalie about a woman (Julianne Moore) who suspects her husband (Liam Neeson) of cheating, then tempts him with a young prostitute (Amanda Seyfried), strives for actual resonance for about a good solid hour. It makes substantive points about faithfulness, and the complex emotions that long-term relationships breed, and Moore delivers terrific work. In the final half hour, though, Egoyan is content to let the movie turn into a soap opera-y guilty pleasure that revels in over-the-top revelations and pulpy plot twists. It’s still an entertaining guilty pleasure, and remains utterly compelling, but by the time it ends, you wonder what happened to that serious movie you started watched. (B)

I'm glad to hear positive things about Edward Norton and Julianne Moore movies since both have had rough patches but are two of our most talented players. This description of Chloe really make me want to see the movie. I tend to like shape-shifting movies... as long as they are purposefully shifting their shape.

On Capitalism: A Love Story

It never ceases to amaze me the slapdash, manipulative bullshit Michael Moore is able to get away with in the name of populism, and his latest film is the worst offender (as well as his first film I haven’t liked). Moore’s been getting a pass from the critics so far, and I can’t really understand why, as the crap he pulls here would earn endless amount of scorn were any other filmmaker’s name attached. Just to be clear, I’m a flaming liberal, and even I grew tired with the rotund documentarian’s perpetual going back to the well of blaming everything on the Republicans, and resorting to cheapshot Bush bashing that has little to no relevancy to the material.

Moore (seemingly) entered into this latest project without much of a thesis statement, and damned if you don’t walk away from the movie with much more than a shrug. He drifts from scene to scene without ever offering much in the way of coherency; he sits down with his friend actor Wallace Shawn to discuss the economy because... Shawn got a degree in economics years ago. Okay...? Why is this a scene in the movie? Moore resorts to his shameless, manipulative, exploitative tactics that don’t serve much of a purpose (a widower is filmed reading a letter to his dead wife, as the camera lingers on the face of the man’s crying child) but if it makes the audience cry, it must have resonance, right? And, frankly, endless scenes of Moore with a bullhorn in front of big buildings and/or trying to get into them are just boring by this point. Perhaps worst of all, after concluding the film with the message that capitalism is evil and must be destroyed, I realized the movie barely scratched the surface at explaining why (or what its title means). Because there are some jobs where people make money at the misfortune than others? I want to be on your side, Michael, but I need more. (D+)

Ouch. I hope I like this one more than this since I've felt for too long that we've worshipped the free market into places untenable.

Next up: four more capsules and txt critics rankings of all 26 pictures he took in at the Toronto International Film Festival. For now... are you intrigued by Chloe? Willing to give Michael Moore another shot?

Goodbye Toronto: Fish Tank and Le Refuge

MattCanada reporting from the Toronto International Film Festival

The festival has ended and Lee Daniels' Precious has won the jury prize. Congratulations to it, and the scores of awards it is now assured to collect. Before I say goodbye, notes on the last two films I saw at TIFF: Le Refuge and the much talked about Fish Tank.

I was very excited for Le Refuge because François Ozon is one of those world cinema directors I always enjoy. However, despite great performances and beautiful cinematography, it left me cold. The story of a pregnant drug addict (Isabelle Carré) forming a relationship with the dead baby-daddy's gay brother (Louis-Ronan Choisy) seemed too oblique to me. Maybe it's just that I like a few more histrionics, but to be perfectly honest, by the time the film ended I felt very little. Le Refuge is technically accomplished but I just couldn't connect with the film, didn't like any of the characters and their journeys and tribulations seemed petty and misguided. The last part especially suprised me because I think overcoming someone's death and bringing new life into the world is monumental and should carry an intense emotional weight. Therefore, it really is a 'tribute' to screenwriters Ozon and Mathieu Hippeau for making them seem utterly unimportant.

The last film I saw at the festival was Andrea Arnold's gritty council estate drama Fish Tank, and at a 9am Saturday screening no less. The film has already received raves for Arnold's direction/writing and the acting of Katie Jarvis, Michael Fassbender, Kierston Wareing, and Harry Treadaway. I think it's the best British film since Anton Corbijn's Control (2007). What struck me most about the film was Arnold's updating of the British New Wave aesthetic, and the feminising of the Angry Young Men of that same era into the volatile Mia (Jarvis). The British New Wave established that it was 'grim up North', focusing almost exclusively on the North's (mainly Manchester and surrounding area) poor and using the constantly grim weather as reflective of the lives and opportunities of the people who live there. These films were based, most often, on plays or literature that formed the basis for the Angry Young Man of the 1950s. Arnold takes these precedents, which are integral parts of modern films as disparate as Trainspotting and Billy Elliot, and focuses on the the grim council flats of Somewhere (unspecified) in Essex.

Instead of an Angry Young Man who violently vocalises his discontent with Britain's social order, Jarvis's Mia says very little, yet reacts just as rashly and violently as Richard Harris and Richard Burton did 50 years ago. Arnold's Essex is bathed in sunlight for major sections of the film, but it does not make Mia's environment any more welcoming, hospitable or cheerful. Arnold's writing, direction, and casting are incredible and the changes she makes to the formula of lower-class kitchen sink drama make this a completely modern film that fits perfectly into the traditions of English realism. I think this is an instant classic, sure to be viewed in the future as another example of lyrical and angry responses to England's class divides like masterworks Room at the Top and Boys from the Blackstuff.

So now I say goodbye to TIFF. I am sad to see the attention shift from my amazing hometown back to LA and NYC, but happy that the lines in Yorkville will once again be manageable.

TIFF: The Finale

Lev Lewis signing off from the Toronto International Film Festival

For ten days a year my little big city is overtaken by the masses of the film industry. Celebrities of all kinds are spotted walking casually through Yonge St.; semi-recognizable journalists with their green laniards hurry from screening to screening. A little piece of Hollywood just one streetcar ride away from me. So, it's odd to see how a city can overnight seem the centre of the world and then, just like that, retreat back to its former, seemingly dull self.

Not that I'm complaining. As exciting as the last ten days have been, a respite from line-ups and writing and, yes, even films, will be most welcome. 18 films in ten days isn't an exorbitant amount but it's more than enough for me. I'll leave you with a write-up on the best films I saw at the festival.

Now for the movies!

Un Prophète
Winner of the Grand Prix at this years Cannes, revered auteur Jacques Audiard's sprawling and gripping crime drama, A Prophet follows the ascent of a young Arab man named Malik through the political labyrinth of a French prison. Audiard and co-screenwriter Thomas Bidegain carefully avoid the trappings of the crime genre without completely subverting them, and in the process have crafted a film that pays homage to the great crime films without simple imitation. Constant motion and an unusual use of music counterbalance the film's gritty hand-held feel and lengthy running time. Grade: A-

Mother
Bong Joon-ho follows up his brilliant monster movie The Host with another look into family and the lengths parents will go to save their offspring. Mother is the story of a, what else, mother trying to get her mentally-challenged son cleared of murder. What's remarkable about Joon-ho is the way he utilizes different genres (in this case, mystery) to tackle issues of corruption, family, guilt, government etc. with careful subtlety. His deceptively simple mystery is weaved together with such ease, through a screenplay laden with a perceptive eye towards the smallest detail that the film's final conclusion is shocking yet quickly apparent. Finally, Kim Hye-ja delivers what may be the female performance of the year. Almost single-minded in her desperation for her son, Hye-ja avoids histrionics and instead creates a character of remarkable depth. Grade: A

The White Ribbon
Recalling some of the greatest work of Bergman, Michael Haneke's fully deserving Palme d'or winner The White Ribbon is a masterwork. Haneke brilliantly underpins the beginning of fascism in Europe within the context of horrific attacks upon and within a small village. His breadth of ideas and his exacting yet straightforward use of editing, cinematography and sound to create atmosphere are all applied to their fullest extent. This is an unsettling and exceptional film. Grade: A

A Note: All three of these films have been submitted by their respective countries for the Academy Awards. If the Oscars have any sense all three will be nominated.

Films, Ranked
1. Antichrist (A)
2. The White Ribbon (A)
3. Mother (A)
4. A Prophet (A-)
5. Fish Tank (A-)
6. Bad Lieuteant: Port of Call New Orleans (B+)
7. Dogtooth(B+)
8. Police, Adjective (B)
9. White Material (B-)
10. Les Herbes Folles (B-)
11. A Serious Man (B-)
12. Mr. Nobody (B-)
13. Up In the Air (C+)
14. Jennifer's Body (C-)
15. My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (C-)
16. Get Low (D+)
17. Life During Wartime (D+)
18. Glorious 39 (D)


Best Director
Lars von Trier, Antichrist (Michael Haneke, The White Ribbon and Bong Joon-ho, Mother)
Best Actor
Willem Dafoe, Antichrist (Nicolas Cage, The Bad Lieutenant...)
Best Actress
Kim Hye-ja, Mother (Charlotte Gainsbourg, Antichrist)

Best Supporting Actor
<--- Michael Fassbender, Fish Tank (Niels Arestrup, Un Prophete and Richard Kind, A Serious Man)
Best Supporting Actress
Roxanne Duran, The White Ribbon (Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air and Juno Temple, Mr. Nobody)
Best Ensemble
The White Ribbon (Fish Tank)
Best Screenplay
Michael Haneke, The White Ribbon (Lars Von Trier, Antichrist and Park Eun-kyo, Mother)
Best Cinematography
Thimios Bakatatakis, Dogtooth (Hong Kyung-pyo, Mother and Anthony Dod Mantle, Antichrist)
Best Original Score
Lee Byeong-Woo, Mother (Stuart Staples, White Material)

Thanks so much for reading and Nathaniel for giving me the space to have some of my writing read. Perhaps I'll see you next year.