“Free Fire”
Ben Wheatley‘s uniquely idiosyncratic take on the darker end of the genre spectrum meant he arrived on the scene more or less fully-formed as a cult director. But his step-up to the big leagues, at least in terms of starriness of cast, “High Rise,” proved even more divisive than previous titles, meaning there was as much wariness as anticipation going into his his new, similarly star-laden film (Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy, Armie Hammer, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Jack Reynor, Noah Taylor). But “Free Fire,” per Kevin’s review, is a much looser and more straightforwardly entertaining film, a blast of popcorn B-movie fun with plenty of bloodshed and bullet wounds, unfolding in its single setting in close to real time as an arms deal in a 1970s warehouse goes violently awry. “Free Fire” is the Ben Wheatley movie most likely to appeal to people not already Ben Wheatley fans.
“Their Finest”
It’s perhaps not the edgiest film on the list, but Lone Scherfig‘s adaptation of a Lissa Evans novel, which follows the production of a WWII propaganda film in war-torn Britain, is a film that our reviewer, Noel Murray, got a lot more out of than many critics. An overtly feminist take on the WWII period drama, it combines fun, insidery jokes about filmmaking (featuring a superb comic trun from Bill Nighy), with an unapologetically progressive message about the value of women in the workplace (symbolised by a game, determined Gemma Arterton) and a dash of romance, all set against a well-rendered backdrop of the actual pain and panic of war. Building to a “third-act plot-twist that moves the film away from the simple and saccharine and toward something more thematically and emotionally complex,” it’s an outwardly conventional film that actually proves to be a charming and moving little surprise.
“Trespass Against Us”
A family crime drama that doesn’t call to mind “The Godfather” so much as “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “Steptoe and Son,” music video director Adam Smith‘s feature debut is a rambunctious story that’s light on plot but elevated by a strong, if wildly dysfunctional, father-son dynamic, with Michael Fassbender playing the apple falling not so very far from Brendan Gleeson‘s tree. Gleeson especially, according to Noel’s review “seems to be having a ball delivering [screenwriter] Siddons’ flavorful dialogue” which sees him play a larger-than-life criminal patriarch with a “worldview that the Earth is flat, children should be taught to be scrappy, and people need to stick with their own kind.” The specificity of the film’s setting (on the fringes of a Northern England traveller community) and the surprisingly sympathetic playing of characters who could easily have been beyond empathy or redemption, make it an arresting debut, albeit a bordeline uncategorisable one.
“Jackie”
Given that Pablo Larrain’s “Jackie” screened towards the end of Venice, when the more mainstream critics had mostly left the festival, we’d wondered whether the reaction would be as universally adoring as it was on the Lido. But we had no reason to fear: TIFF critics ate up the film, a highly unconventional biopic of former First Lady Jackie Kennedy set in the days immediately after the assassination of her husband, and it’s now cemented as a serious awards contender after Fox Searchlight picked it up. As Jess wrote in her review, Natalie Portman has “never been better,” with a film that Larrain gives a playful-yet-intellectual twist that, despite a very performative nature, proves to be “quite devastatingly human.” The Chilean helmer (who directs with “robust liveliness”) has delivered his third great movie in eighteen months, and we hope he only becomes more prolific from here.
“I Called Him Morgan”
A documentary biopic about the life and death of relatively obscure jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan might not seem like the most enticing prospect on paper. But as soon as you hear even the outline of the story — his life encompassed immense promise, brushes with fame and the greats of the day, a slide into heroin use and a later “resurrection”; while his death was a violent one when he was murdered by the very woman credited with saving his life earlier — and it already sounds like fascinating material. Add to that it’s from director Kasper Collin who clearly knows this milieu having previously made jazz doc “My Name Is Albert Ayler“ and that it’s shot in part by the peerless Bradford Young so it looks great, and it’s easy to see how, per Gary’s review “the film becomes a celebration of these two lives and the era of music that both created and destroyed them”.
Honorable Mentions: The dumb TV-is-better-than-film-no-TV-is-garbage arguments have flared up once again recently. It should be ignored at all costs, but it is worth noting that there were two great TV showcases at TIFF this year, in the shape of the first three episodes of the third season of “Transparent,” and two installments of the new run of “Black Mirror.” Both suggest great stuff to come from both shows across the fall.
There were other great movies too, including Hong Sang-Soo’s latest “Yourself & Yours,” the raucously enjoyable animated pic “Sing,” powerful addiction drama “Werewolf,” the Cold War-era doc “Karl Marx City,” Peter Berg’s solid disaster movie “Deepwater Horizon,” Korean actioner “Asura: The City Of Madness,” Obama biopic “Barry,” excellent debut “In The Radiant City,” Steve James’ latest “ABACUS,” Christopher Guest’s “Mascots,” Mira Nair’s “Queen Of Katwe,” and many, many more.
Disappointments And The One We Missed
They can’t all be winners at any festival, and this year at TIFF there were films we were anticipating that simply missed the mark. Two high profile pictures didn’t quite work, with “Lion” proving to underwhelm with its true life story of familial reconnection, and Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac left utterly adrift in the supremely dull “The Promise.” Rachel Weisz vehicle “Denial” didn’t spark much fire, Ewan McGregor couldn’t connect in his directorial debut “American Pastoral,” and Oliver Stone didn’t push the buttons many hoped for with “Snowden.” Meanwhile, Walter Hill showed that even respected veterans can have an off day with his cheap — and worse, absolutely no fun — “(Re) Assignment.”
Meanwhile, it has become generally accepted wisdom over the years that any movies premiering at the far back end of TIFF — when most of the press and industry have already packed their bags and left — is generally not a highlight, but that wasn’t the case in 2016. “The Edge Of Seventeen” starring Hailee Steinfeld and Woody Harrelson — and screening for press late Friday night — received excellent buzz, with many calling it a fresh take on the teen movie genre. Sadly, it fell off our schedule, but lesson learned for 2017.
Take a look below at the reviews for everything we covered at the fest, and see you next year!
“Asura: The City Of Madness” (B)
“By The Time It Gets Dark” (B)
“My Entire High School Sinking Into The Sea” (B-)
“Mali Blues” (C)
Elle and Things to Come could’ve been listed as well.