The Toronto International Film Festival, or TIFF for short, is one of the biggest film festivals in the world. This year, we covered the fest entirely virtually, save a few in-person NYC screenings. Even though we missed out on some big movies due to being inaccessible to United States press (including Award-winning Belfast, Dune, The Humans, Spencer, and Wolf), TIFF was home to some truly magnificent films from fresh talent. This wrap-up compiles everything not awarded full coverage for the festival, previously reviewed festival picks, and down below are our personal top 10 favorites!
Films
BENEDICTION
As one of the few LGBT+ films in the TIFF lineup, I very desperately wanted to love Benediction. Instead, my reaction was more like oh hey, now the gays can have a boring and stuffy period-piece movie too! All kidding aside, the use of poetry and vintage stock footage make this weirdly structured—I shouldn’t be confused when watching a movie set primarily in 1914. The old-age stuff with Peter Capaldi just did not work for me, nor did I buy that his character was the same Sassoon we have been following the entire film. What I did enjoy is that director Terence Davies fully embraces the LGBT angle. Jack Lowden is spectacular as young Sassoon, and his whole chunk of the story, had it been laser-focused and less stream-of-consciousness poetry, had potential to be a fantastic movie all its own. I loved seeing the catty twinks of the time period show up too, particularly Jeremy Irvine’s Ivor. In the end, Benediction lacks a special ingredient difficult to pinpoint, and I was not as over-the-moon for it as I had expected.
CHARLOTTE
Gorgeous, simplistic 2D animation is the perfect medium to tell this intimate true story of a German-Jewish artist named Charlotte. The tragedy of Charlotte’s life story hit me hard, especially via the emotionally devastating conclusion. A cycle of suicide and depression in the females of her family hang over Charlotte like a dark cloud. Any movie that depicts World War II and Nazis is fighting an uphill battle, as molding entertainment from tragedy is very hard to execute in a tasteful way. However, Charlotte’s story feels like it needs to be told. Her artwork is complied into what is considered the first graphic novel of all time, titled “Life? or Theatre?” I continue to be surprised by the scope and expansion of the format to tell adult stories—proof ever more that animation is way more than just children’s entertainment.
EARWIG
It is becoming a trend so far in 2021 that every single festival has at least one movie so bizarre and completely baffling that I am practically left at a loss for words. For TIFF, Earwig—chronicling a girl with ice cubes for teeth—is that film. It drips with atmosphere and style from director Lucile Hadzihalilovic, and has a warped dream logic to its narrative that makes all the more sense when you have a little background. The book’s writer Brian Catling based it all on a feverish dream he had. Armed with this knowledge, I still would not exactly excuse Earwig’s lack of explanations or seemingly random spurts of violence. Romane Hemelaers as the little girl Mia does a good job, but the lackluster storyline fails to bring together all the pieces in a satisfying way.
THE GOOD HOUSE
Sigourney Weaver as a raging alcoholic real estate agent is just as entertaining as it sounds. Weaver plays Hildy, a descendant of the Salem witches, though this aspect of the story is barely touched upon unless you count Hildy’s ability to “read people’s energies.” The majority of the film is a fourth-wall breaking dark comedy driven by Hildy’s constant insights and humorous asides. For a large chunk of The Good House, I was really enjoying Weaver just having fun playing the character of Hildy. The beaches, salty air, and general landscapes of the film also act as a gorgeous backdrop to the action. What works less for me is the detour into devastating drama territory they decide to take in the last twenty minutes, only to still end up at a schmaltzy feel-good destination lacking the thrust of consequences for what came before. Based on Ann Leary’s book The Good House, I think the majority of my issues lie with the source material. If you are interested for Sigourney Weaver alone, I would still highly recommend checking it out.
GOOD MADAM
Good Madam is well-intentioned, but the shiny gleam of prestige filmmaking can only propel you so far without the structure of a solid script to provide balance. I am not typically one to adhere to a strict form for genre film, so I say with some certainty that although this is being billed as South African horror, I found little in the way of scares or suspense. Tsidi (Chumisa Cosa) and her young daughter are forced to move in with Tsidi’s estranged mother, who in turn works under a catatonic white ‘Madam;’ their living situation is anything but normal. For starters, they must respect the rules of the house, primary of which is “never go into Madam’s room.” While the setup is rife for spooky horrors, the scariest we get here is the recurring sound of a loud bell dinging, toothbrush-scrubbing, and seeing a dog that died “ages ago.” I found the cultural representation extremely interesting, and was left wishing it was channeled through a sharper concept than that of dark spirits.
THE GUILTY
Heading into TIFF, The Guilty was an easy choice for one of my most anticipated films of the festival. Literally anything with Jake Gyllenhaal, regardless of how small the role may be, is an automatic must-watch for me. Throw in some 9-1-1 operator thrills, and it was a no-brainer. I certainly got my fair share of Gyllenhaal—this is fully his movie from top to bottom, with intense close-ups conveying his reactions. Jake’s acting is masterful, and the script draws on his emotionally vulnerable character-acting like he channeled in Brokeback Mountain. Beyond Jake though, The Guilty is not very engaging. The entirety of the film is set in one day, and we simply follow Joe (Gyllenhaal) taking a variety of calls at his 9-1-1 operator job for LAPD Communications. I tried my hardest to stay invested, but The Guilty is guilty of being one of the weaker films in Gyllenhaal’s filmography.
MOTHERING SUNDAY
Mothering Sunday is a gorgeously-filmed drama set in March of 1924. The intimacy between two people who should have never been intimate in the first place—young maid, Jane (Odessa Young), and engaged-to-be-wed neighboring heir, Paul (Josh O’Connor)—feels elaborately set up, but lacks a spark going beyond lust. A tale this intricate and specific, complete with inner character turmoil, could only be based on a novel (this one from Graham Swift). Paul and Jane have a whole conversation about “his seed,” and both Young and O’Connor are not afraid to show ample nudity in service of their characters. Director Eva Husson does a terrific job at establishing the time period atmosphere, and may indeed please fans of Jane Austen and the like.
PETITE MAMAN
At only 72 minutes in length, charming French drama Petite Maman is too slight to leave a substantial impression on this viewer. It could be that my expectations were set too high following its warm reception at various other festivals; whatever the cause, I simply wanted more out of this tale of two little girls with serious abandonment issues… 8-year-old Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) goes through quite a transformation over the course of the film. From the opening scene where she asks her mom if they can keep her recently-deceased grandma’s cane, Nelly is downright adorable. She is reason enough to see this film at least once, and her relationship with Marion (Gabrielle Sanz) is largely why audiences are so smitten with the film. For me, Petite Maman is extra twee and overly simplistic—not even a surprising final-act development that reinterprets everything that came before can make this a home run. The connection of two girls over their shared trauma is the most enticing bit.
SILENT NIGHT
A movie that feels purely fueled by the craziness of our pandemic times, yet was written before Covid forcibly thrust its way into this world? Silent Night, billed as a comedy/horror/drama hybrid, weirdly works as apt social commentary. It is incredibly soaked in bleakness to the point that it becomes difficult to fully enjoy. The only movie that came to mind from the disturbing ending is Stephen King’s The Mist, so that should give one an adequate metric with which to measure Silent Night’s indomitably depressing atmosphere. With this out of the way, it takes far too long to arrive at the horrific destination. With few glimpses into the outside world, Silent Night gives us only the viewpoint of the privileged in this doomsday scenario. A toxic gas is ominously working its way toward their little party, killing anything and everything in its path. The government has introduced a questionable tactic: take an “exit pill” to “avoid suffering and die with dignity.” The main problem here is that every character is pretty much insufferable beyond Art (JoJo Rabbit breakout star Roman Griffin Davis), a young boy determined to find another way to survive. It is hard to care about any of them with the knowledge that they are all about to die anyway, yet it could have been remedied with a stronger script.
THE SURVIVOR
Based on the memories of legendary fighter Harry Haft, “The Pride of Poland and the Survivor of Auschwitz,” The Survivor wears out its welcome the further it dives into the post-fighting days of its central subject. The acting performances are very good. In particular, Ben Foster shocked and impressed me, as I have never seen him in a role quite like this one. However, this story feels so fractured because of the way it is structured. One of the directorial choices I admired was the decision to make the flashbacks in the concentration camps into all black-and white, giving them a haunting and vintage feel. The compelling sections are, naturally, the awful sins Harry (Foster) is forced to commit on behalf of the Nazi party, then subsequently how this folds into his future career as an actual fighter. Then there is everything else—trying to make it as an immigrant, being forced to learn English, overcoming failures and life goals, finding love, and being haunted by the ghosts of the past. In trying to be a comprehensive detail of Haft’s life story, tons of interesting themes and ideas are touched upon without being fully realized into great ones.
TERRORIZERS
From the TIFF description, I expected an entirely different type of movie than what Terrorizers delivered. That said, I actually found myself completely mesmerized by Wi Ding Ho’s gorgeously shot and delightfully peculiar Taiwanese drama. A crazy slashing incident with a giant sword in a mall may be the crux of the story, but the complexities to this single VR-motivated burst of violence reverberate through every frame of the non-linear narrative. Horny, bizarre, and strangely super-engaging, Terrorizers builds up a sadistic antihero, leaks a lesbian sex tape, and spreads its scandalous wings to the sky. I’m not sure I fully grasped everything that Ding Ho was trying to accomplish with this film, and I damn well had a great time watching it regardless.
TRUE THINGS
The approach behind True Things (examining a toxic relationship through a female perspective) may be admirable indeed, but this is a film that tends to trip over its own metaphorical footing. Ruth Wilson, who also produces, is good as Kate despite the character’s inherent baked-in unlikable qualities. Tom Burke plays Blondy, the dirty stranger who implants himself in Kate’s life, and brings with him a litany of issues. The dialogue is too straightforward to form the identities beyond mere stereotypes. There is barely anything to this film at all beyond countless sex scenes; beginning with Kate being orally pleasured sets the tone for meandering through Kate’s sexual exploits. Pretentious sexually-charged dramas may be the bread and butter of many a festival, and in that vein, perhaps there is an audience out there who will love True Things.
WHERE IS ANNE FRANK
I honestly was excited for Where is Anne Frank, the second animated film at TIFF that deals with World War II and the awful Nazi regime. Frank’s real story is one of incredible courage and deeply tragic sadness. While Charlotte focused on a very intimate and human story during this time period, Anne Frank instead shifts to modern day, where Anne’s imaginary best friend Kitty comes to life magically birthed from her literal diaries. The animation is perfectly splendid—literally everything else about the production is questionable at best. This movie is very much strictly for kids, and almost feels like a piece of made-for-TV propaganda afraid to dive deep into the larger horrors and injustices. The closest thing we get to any real dramatic heft is in the summarizing of Frank’s horribly depressing final days. However, even this is marred by showing Frank traveling through the underworld with her mother. There is no reason to have fart jokes in a movie dealing with topics this heavy. The attempts to tie in modern-day immigration are clumsy at best. Was I supposed to care about Kitty’s love story? Even this aspect is half-baked, going into full Frosty the Snowman mode by the end. I would say maybe kids will enjoy this, though it is hard to gauge whether even they would be ambivalent towards this tonally-confused animated nightmare.
Previously Viewed
BERGMAN ISLAND
Full review at the link.
I’M YOUR MAN
Full review at the link.
MEDUSA
Full review at the link.
VIOLET
Full review at the link.
Josh’s Ten Favorite Films
Overall, TIFF was a total pleasure to cover! The Eyes of Tammy Faye fully impressed both of us, and we foresee potential awards consideration (especially for Jessica Chastain). For more information about the festival and a complete list of this year’s lineup, you can visit the TIFF website.