The Toronto International Film Festival wrapped up a few weeks ago, and we had plenty of excellent coverage. This included reviews of the People’s Choice, Midnight Madness, Best Canadian Discovery winners and much more! Huge thanks to Jeff Bulmer and Brodie Cotnam for their fantastic work.
Where Seeds falters a bit is in how Horn decides to tackle that central conflict. Seeds is part drama, part revenge action thriller, and all a bit too convenient. Nature’s Oath, quickly revealed as unforgivably evil, sends a mercenary to break into Ziggy’s house. With a shadowy figure (played by a particularly mean Patrick Garrow) now stalking her and assaulting her friends, the colonialism of Nature’s Oath is reduced from an abstract idea to a tangible, defeatable enemy. While it’s cathartic for Ziggy to fight an embodiment of corporate greed, it risks obscuring the larger point behind run-of-the-mill fight sequences.
-Jeff Bulmer
The lore of SNL runs deep, and the original cast of seven have an outstanding history with the show. The film smartly blends having the actors do impersonations while also allowing them to be their own characters. Standouts include Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, who nails the arrogance of always believing he is the funniest (and best looking) man in every room he walks into. His confidence is off the charts, and while the film skewers him the most of any member predicting that his assholery will eventually make him persona non grata, it doesn’t shy away from showing that he was one of the main reasons for the show being as successful as it was.
-Dakota Arsenault
Based on the autobiographical graphic novel by Chester Brown and directed by Brown’s real-life ex-partner Sook-Yin Lee, Paying For It is a layered and charming story about finding love and acceptance in unexpected places. Like the comic from which it’s adapted, Paying aims to demystify sex work, while providing a fascinating reflection on life and love in the big city. Does Chester “resort” to hooking up with sex workers, or are his encounters with escorts simply a part of his life that allows him to focus on relationships without worrying about sex?
-Jeff Bulmer
Booth as Werther and Pill as Charlotte have excellent chemistry, their courtship creating a sweet and convincing love story. In their scenes alone, they dig deep into their characters, creating fully realized and relatable people.
-Jeff Bulmer
Rankin creates a city that feels lived in, while his use of relatively simple set-pieces encourages the audience to project their own home onto his. The universal language so integral to the film is neither Farsi nor French, it’s nostalgia, shared between Rankin and the audience.
-Jeff Bulmer
The most interesting decision Van Dijl makes with Keeps Quiet is to respect Julie’s decision. Rather than probing the details of Aline or Julie’s abuse, the film follows Julie as she gets used to a life without her main trainer. Much of the film follows Julie through her day-to-day life, following Julie to German and Science classes or showing her tennis practice routines. By spending so much time with her, the film illuminates how Jeremy affected every aspect of Julie’s life, and how much effort it takes for her to rewire her brain in his absence.
-Jeff Bulmer
The Return is full of outstanding layered performances. Fiennes’ tortured approach to Odysseus more closely resembles a Vietnam veteran than a mythic hero. Binoche’s Penelope is by far the most powerful and strong-willed person on Ithaca, but without a king, her position as acting queen means nothing.
-Jeff Bulmer
Vice is Broke also celebrates work done by the individual writers, editors, and contributors to Vice. Huang breaks down important articles and videos from each era in Vice’s history, interviewing the (often originally uncredited) creatives behind each piece to learn what Vice was like at that time. By looking at the company’s time as a zine, pioneer of online alternative news, and eventual rise as a trendsetter for mainstream news channels, Huang creates a comprehensive portrait of a titan of 21st century nonfiction media. For much of its life, Vice was a place where writers could innovate.
-Jeff Bulmer
As fans of Flanagan’s previous films and TV shows will no doubt be aware, and newcomers will appreciate, he’s able to imbue his work with a great amount of heart and humanity, both exhibited and explored throughout this story. Chuck’s love of dance is utilized for some great set pieces that are fun and speak to the character at various stages of his life.
-Brodie Cotnam
The heightened world Coralie Fargeat creates in The Substance is seemingly timeless and intoxicatingly stylish. It’s a world where the biggest star in Hollywood stays on top with an 80s-flavoured fitness program, and eternal youth is delivered as a bi-weekly subscription. The contrast between the sweat-soaked, overproduced, oversexualized weekly music video that replaces Elisabeth’s fitness show, and the grimy streets of nowhere-specific, Los Angeles makes visually explicit the artificial nature of show business.
-Jeff Bulmer
The performances of each of the leads are great, but the true standout is Grant. Grant is charming in the role, playing Reed as a charismatic, genius academic. He’s a bit full of himself, but never comes across as an outright narcissist. Rather, he comes across like a long-neglected PhD candidate who finally has the opportunity to talk about his dissertation.
-Jeff Bulmer
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286: 2024 Toronto International Film Festival
The Last Showgirl originally posted on That Shelf
Every once in a while, a role seems so intrinsically tied to the public perception of its star that the lead performance will literally feel like the part they were born to play. The Last Showgirl, directed by Gia Coppola, has crafted such a character for Pamela Anderson.
-Dakota Arsenault
