The Toronto International Film Festival is such an enormous
undertaking that it can be hard to even preview it effectively. Many point to
the fest’s ability to launch Oscar campaigns—“Room,” “The Danish Girl” and “Spotlight”
all had red carpet premieres there last year—while others look to programs like
Vanguard or even Midnight Madness for films that are off the beaten path. It is
definitely one of those festivals that offers ticket buyers a chance to experience
everything from high-profile awards contenders to indie flicks that may not
play again outside of the Scotiabank theater. While I love the experience of
seeing something as powerful as “Spotlight” with a large audience, I often
think back on the discoveries of years past. Two films last year that weren’t
even on my schedule until I had to adjust it at the last minute ended up being
two of my favorites of last year’s TIFF: “Mustang” and “February” (now known as “The Blackcoat’s Daughter”). What will
people be talking about in Toronto and around the world over the next week and
a half? It’s impossible to know for sure, but we can try and pick out a few
titles that look the most promising.
Just for the sake of focus, let’s stick to World Premieres.
And yet one could easily make up a schedule of films entirely based on works
that already premiered at other fests. There are the Sundance hits yet to open,
including the masterpiece that is “Manchester by the Sea,” Kelly Reichardt’s
beautiful “Certain Women” and Nate Parker’s controversial “The Birth of a Nation.”
There are the dozen or so Cannes imports, including Andrea Arnold’s “American
Honey,” Park Chan-wook’s “The Handmaiden,” Jim Jarmusch’s “Paterson,” Cristian
Mungiu’s “Graduation,” Jeff Nichols’ “Loving,” Olivier Assayas’ “Personal
Shopper,” Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle,” and many more. Barbara Scharres has already reported on many of these, but we’ll be hitting a few again this weekend.
And then there are the films just premiered at Venice and Telluride,
including “Arrival,” “La La Land,” “Nocturnal Animals,” “Voyage of Time: Life’s
Journey,” “Neruda,” “The Bad Batch,” “Bleed For This,” “Wakefield,” two new films by Werner
Herzog, and my most-anticipated film of TIFF and possibly the rest of the entire year, “Moonlight.” And yet none of those are World Premieres. Here’s the 20
we’re most excited to see, in alphabetical order. Be sure to come back for daily
coverage from myself, Matt Fagerholm, Tina Hassania and Alexander Huls.
“Abacus: Small Enough
to Jail”
Steve James’ first film since the award-winning “Life Itself”
tells the story of Abacus, the only bank criminally indicted after the
financial crisis of 2008. While other, larger banks were being bailed out by
the government, Abacus, a Manhattan-based bank, was being tried by Manhattan
District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. Never heard of Thomas Sung and his Chinatown
bank? Neither have most people, but we’re confident that one of our best
documentarians will tell his story with the compassion and detail that only he
can.
“All I See Is You”
Director Marc Forster has carved out a very unusual career, moving
from Oscar-winner “Monster’s Ball” to blockbusters like “Quantum of Solace” and
“World War Z.” His latest looks more character-driven and less CGI-heavy, and
it stars two often-fascinating actors in Jason Clarke and Blake Lively. The
latter plays Gina, a woman who has been virtually blind since a car crash in
her childhood, but she has a groundbreaking surgery to restore her sight. When
she regains her vision, she starts seeing things in her marriage that she didn’t
know about before in what the TIFF description designates as a thriller. That’s all I
need to know.
“American Pastoral”
Ewan McGregor has been one of our most interesting actors
over the last couple decades, working in pictures as big as the “Star Wars” prequels and as
small as “Last Days in the Desert.” It makes sense that his directorial debut
would be as ambitious as tackling the often-hard-to-film work by Philip Roth.
He directs and stars in this version of one of Roth’s most famous novels, the Pulitzer Prize-winning epic from 1997.
Time has called it one of the 100 greatest novels ever written. No pressure,
Ewan.
“Blair Witch”
On paper, a reboot/follow-up to the 1999 smash hit “The
Blair Witch Project” sounds like a really
bad idea. “The Blair Witch Project” was a lightning strike, the kind of phenomenon that can’t be
easily recreated. So why put this on the list? Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett.
The team behind “You’re Next” and “The Guest” have impressed more with each
collaboration, and I like that they filmed and even first-hyped this project
under the title of “The Woods” before revealing its actual identity. What’s it
about? I don’t care, and I’m trying to stay as ignorant as possible because the
first movie worked best the less one knew about it.
“Colossal”
Nacho Vigalondo hasn’t really fulfilled the promise of his
twisty and brilliant “Timecrimes” but this odd, intriguing entry in the
often-great Vanguard section of this year’s program could be the follow-up we’ve
been waiting for. It certainly won’t be forgettable. Anne Hathaway plays a
hard-drinking party girl in a film that sounds like it’s set up as a
coming-home/redemption story, co-starring Jason Sudeikis and Dan Stevens. And
then our heroine learns that she has a connection to a giant monster currently
destroying the city of Seoul. Yeah, sign me up.
“Daguerrotype”
Kiyoshi Kurosawa has been busy. We’ve already written about his return to genre roots in the excellent “Creepy,” which played Fantasia Fest, and now we have the masterful director’s
first film outside of Japan, a French-language thriller starring Olivier
Gourmet, Constance Rousseau and the amazing Tahar Rahim (“A Prophet”). Working
in new languages can often be problematic, even for great filmmakers, but I’m
fascinated to see how a craftsman like Kurosawa works with such a raw,
emotional actor as Rahim.
“Deepwater Horizon”
One of several high-powered blockbusters looking to use the
fest as a launching pad for a successful theatrical run like last year’s “The
Martian,” Peter Berg’s telling of the biggest oil spill in US history promises
a lot of bang for your fest-going time. Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell star as
two of the foremen on the titular offshore drilling unit in the Gulf of Mexico
in April of 2010 when disaster struck. Berg has been very hit-and-miss in the
past but this material seems perfectly suited to his strengths, and could offer
quite the alternative to the large number of dialogue-driven character studies
in the TIFF program.
“Denial”
Director Mick Jackson has been quiet after a dominant ‘90s
that included hits like “The Bodyguard” and “Volcano,” along with one of my
favorite comedies of all time, “L.A. Story.” He’s a hard director to put a
finger on, and it’s impossible to tell how he’ll handle such a complicated,
emotionally fraught story as this adaptation of Deborah E. Lipstadt’s History
on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier, although having David Hare (“The Hours“) as a screenwriter will certainly help. Another reason to be optimistic? The
promise of a showdown between Rachel Weisz and Timothy Spall. Weisz plays a
woman who accuses a military historian of being a Holocaust denier. He then
sues her and forces her, because of the U.K.’s libel system, to actually prove
the existence of the Holocaust.
“Free Fire”
Last year’s premiere of Ben Wheatley’s “High-Rise” was one of the most buzzed-about
events of TIFF, and the director is not about to take time off. He’s back on
opening night in the Midnight Madness program with this genre film
starring Brie Larson, Armie Hammer and Cillian Murphy. The description promises
a ‘70s crime thriller set almost entirely in one location during a gun deal
gone horribly awry. That’s all I need to know.
“I Am the Pretty
Thing That Lives in the House”
Osgood Perkins’ “February” is the best TIFF 2015 film that
has yet to be released, but will be under the new named “The Blackcoat’s Daughter”
early next year. And yet you may end up seeing his follow-up first with this
repeat trip to the Vanguard program for the grandson of the great Anthony
Perkins. As with most thrillers, the less you know, the better. Ruth Wilson of “The
Affair” plays a young nurse whose patient, a horror novelist, may have written
a book about the nurse’s death. Sounds awesome, and I can’t wait to see how
Perkins follows up his breakthrough. I have a
feeling that we’re going to be talking about his work for many years and films
to come.
“JT + The Tennessee
Kids”
Why include a concert film about Justin Timberlake in the
Toronto International Film Festival? Because it was directed by Jonathan Demme, who
gave us “Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense”—the best concert film of all time—and shot by the legendary
Declan Quinn, a regular collaborator of not just Demme but U2. There’s also the
fact that Timberlake is just a phenomenal live performer. I may have to reveal
my fandom in front of everyone at TIFF. I’ll try not to sing along too loudly.
“Mascots”
It’s been ten years since “For Your Consideration” and
twenty years since “Waiting For Guffman.” Does director Christopher Guest have another
comedy masterpiece in him? Before this premieres on Netflix in October, we’ll
get a sneak peek of its quality at TIFF. Guest and many of his regular
collaborators, including Parker Posey and Fred Willard, take on the world of
mascot competitions, which sounds like it blends the pageantry of “Best in Show”
with the theatricality of “Waiting for Guffman.” These are good things.
“Message From the
King”
This thriller is a big question mark but I love the cast,
including Teresa Palmer and Luke Evans in supporting roles, and
should-be-a-star Chadwick Boseman in the lead. Boseman plays Jacob King, a
South African who has come to Los Angeles looking for the people who killed his
sister. Boseman is a charismatic, complex actor, and one hopes that this could
be another striking role for him. Comparisons to Takeshi Kitano’s “Brother” and
Steven Soderbergh’s “The Limey” only increase my level of interest.
“A Monster Calls”
J.A. Bayona’s “The Orphanage” is one of the best horror
films of the last twenty years, and I’m a fan of his tsunami drama “The Impossible” as well,
despite the controversy. Whatever one may say about that film, it is a
remarkable technical accomplishment, revealing a skill set that makes him an
interesting choice for a CGI-heavy monster movie that sounds like a twisted
cousin of Steven Spielberg’s “The BFG” from earlier this year. Based on the award-wining children’s
book by Patrick Ness, Bayona’s adaptation tells the story of a boy struggling
with the death of his mother when he befriends a giant monster. The description
makes it sound like this is a fantasy film more about the human experience than
CGI—the boy has to tell stories to keep the monster happy—and distributor Focus Features surely
seems confident in the project, recently moving it to an awards-friendly release date in December.
Speaking of awards, if anything looks like “bait” this year,
it’s the latest drama from Terry George, the director of “Hotel Rwanda,”
although I’m OK if that bait earns the great Oscar Isaac the recognition he
deserves. The star of “Inside Llewyn Davis” plays an American medical student
in Anatolia during the first World War who gets caught up in a love triangle.
The sprawling epic co-stars Christian Bale, Charlotte Le Bon and Shohreh
Aghdashloo.
“Queen of Katwe”
Mira Nair teams with Lupita Nyong’o, who won an Oscar for “12
Years a Slave,” and David Oyelowo, who should have won one for “Selma,” for a film about a young, Ugandan chess champion. Based on a true story, Nair’s drama is being released
by Disney later this month, and promises to be a unique, inspiring family film.
“The Secret Scripture”
Very few films at TIFF are in my personal wheelhouse as much
as this period piece based on Sebastian Barry’s novel. It stars Rooney Mara,
Jack Reynor, Eric Bana and Vanessa Redgrave, which is a powerhouse quartet of
actors. The film is directed by Jim Sheridan, who has faltered a bit in recent years
but gave the world “My Left Foot,” “In the Name of the Father” and “In America,”
a personal favorite. Redgrave and Mara play the same woman, the latter in
flashbacks detailing a troubled past. Casting alone has me intrigued enough to
file it under “don’t-miss.”
“Snowden”
Is there a better subject in 2016 for Oliver Stone than
Edward Snowden? Not that I can think of. Months of delays have produced some
critical jitters, but I’m still optimistic that Stone can capture the story of
the world’s most infamous whistle-blower in a way that only he can. Starring
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Timothy Olyphant and
Nicolas Cage, the premiere of “Snowden” this Friday night is one of the biggest
film events of the year, pushing it for a hopeful awards season run to begin
next week, September 16, when it goes nationwide.
“Trespass Against Us”
Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson in the same film?
Where do I buy tickets? Fassbender plays the son of a criminal father played by
Gleeson. The son is trying to go straight, but he gets sucked back into the family
business in this highly-buzzed feature debut from Adam Smith, a regular video director for The Chemical Brothers, who also score this thriller.
“A United Kingdom”
David Oyelowo pops up on the TIFF premiere list again, this time with a female, black director, illustrating the notable diversity in
this year’s line-up. Oyelowo plays Seretse Khama in this biopic about the first
president of Botswana, who courted controversy when he married a white
Englishwoman, played by the great Rosamund Pike. Amma Assante (“Belle”) directs
this epic period piece that sounds like one of the more ambitious films at TIFF
2016.
Other World Premieres that have us intrigued: Walter Hill’s “(re)ASSIGNMENT”
with Michelle Rodriguez & Sigourney Weaver; Tony Elliott’s sci-fi
mindbender “ARQ”; Vikram Gandhi’s Obama drama “Barry”; Greg McLean’s
star-studded Midnight Madness entry “The Belko Experiment”; Alexandre Lehmann’s “Blue
Jay” with the great Sarah Paulson & Mark Duplass; Susan Johnson’s “Carrie Pilby,” starring Bel
Powley & Gabriel Byrne; “City of Tiny Lights” with the fast-rising star Riz
Ahmed; Rachel Lambert’s “In the Radiant City”; Bronwen Hughes’ “The Journey is the
Destination”; Rob Reiner’s “LBJ,” with Woody Harrelson as the controversial
leader; Juan Carlos Medina’s “The Limehouse Golem” with Olivia Cooke & Bill
Nighy; Garth Davis’ “Lion”; Antoine Fuqua’s star-studded “The Magnificent
Seven”; Avi Nesher’s “Past Life”; Lone Scherfig’s “Their Finest” with Gemma
Arterton; Adam Leon’s “Tramps.” We will do our best to get to all of them.
