Final Rating: 4/5
It is a right of passage for young people to test boundaries by lashing out at authority figures, struggling with where they fit in society, and trying to find themselves. Unfortunately sometimes these moments could have serious retributions depending on what is at stake. Young Félix (Félix Munger) is about to learn the hard way that seeking attention through rebellion has its costs in Rémi St-Michel’s, Toy Gun Bandit.
On Félix’s 15th birthday he impulsively dyes his hair blue (his dad is happy its not a face tattoo), pretends to rob a gas station for more beer but when the employee thinks its real and bails it creates an opportunity for Félix to steal cash, buys a round of shots at a dive bar that kicks him out and this is just the beginning of his night.
After getting kicked out of the bar for not having ID despite still buying everyone a drink, Félix meets Dave (David Beaudoin) who gives him a birthday bump of coke before the cops catch them in the act sending both people running and creating an immediate bond between them.
When Félix gets fired from his job to to cover his tracks he goes running to Dave for help. Dave and his girlfriend Jenny (Jenny-Mark Turmel-Pichette) are having money problems and decide to rope in Félix and homeless drug addict Sara (Sara Montpetit) to help them rob banks.
For once in Félix’s life he feels important, valued and most of all is sticking it to authority figures by being above the law. His new crew is nothing like his old high school friends who didn’t want to have anything to do with what bad life choices he was clearly going down a path of.
Félix Munger’s performance is the right amount of brattiness with an unmatched ego size. While he can get on people’s nerves (deservedly so), he also genuinely cares for the people around him. He still respects his parents, his first instinct upon meeting Dave is to help him get away from the cops and even saves Sara’s life by being the only person to help her.
Toy Gun Bandit, which purports to be “almost a true story” according to the title card at the beginning of the film is a spectacular work of filmmaking, utilizing smaller scopes to carve out an intimate and engaging crime thriller.
Toy Gun Bandit was seen during the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. Thank you to Route504 for the screener.
