TORONTO, ONTARIO—At the halfway point of my Toronto International Film Festival experience, I changed gears and put my head down: my goal was to see as many films as possible over the next four days. I got shut out of three films that opening weekend and missed out on seeing others while I waited in “rush” lines for what turned out to be popular films at the festival. It was wonderful standing in line talking to everyone about what they had seen or what they were excited for, but what I really wanted was to capitalize on the chance to see more new work from undiscovered talents or potential Oscar frontrunners.
Going into the beautiful Visa screening room in the Elgin Theater for a morning screening of Oren Moverman’s newest film, Rampart, co-written by crime writer James Ellroy, proved to be unlikely punishment: a misstep after Moverman’s previous surprising film The Messenger. The film takes place in 1999 and is based on a real LAPD scandal. Dave Brown (played with brute force by Woody Harrelson) has been playing against the rules on the L.A.P.D. for years when all of his wrongdoings start catching up to him. Brown, whose nickname is “Date-Rape Dave” for perhaps killing a known rapist and getting away with it, goes through the wringer at the office, trying to clear his name while he tries his best to “protect and serve.” Harrelson gives a magnetic performance—he’s always been an underappreciated actor—but the material never adds up to anything more than the kind of rough language and violence that was explored earlier in Training Day and Harsh Times; it fails to do anything new with the genre. (Rampart was picked up by Millennium Entertainment at the festival and could be released in the Twin Cities by the end of 2011 or early 2012.) Grade: C
Moving into slower terrain, the Brazilian film, The Silver Cliff, was something of a relief after Rampart but also a bit of a chore to sit through. Director Karim Ainouz sets up a sticky predicament but still moves his snail-paced narrative along that barely makes an impact. When Violeta learns her husband has broken up with her on a voice mail and saying he never wants to see her again, she quickly leaves her job in search of him. What starts out as a promising story quickly becomes meandering and uninspiring. While the cinematographer and lead actress, Alessandra Negrini, are moving, but the story never really satisfies at its conclusion. (The Silver Cliff currently has no U.S. distribution.) C+
Deciding not to “rush” for A Dangerous Method for two hours—considering there were already 50 people in line—it was a nice surprise to catch the newest film by Japanese writer/director Hirokazu Kore-Eda (Still Walking, After Life), I Wish, one of the highlights of the festival. 12 year old Koichi (terrific newcomer Koki Maeda) lives with his mother in Kagoshima and his younger brother Ryunosuke lives with his father in Hakata, and the two boys try to figure out how to get their parents back together. I Wish gives all the children, parents, and grandparents enough screen time to work its way to an enjoyable conclusion involving two bullet trains where the boys plan to meet. Kore-eda takes his time developing an adventure, with lush scenery and plenty of smart dialogue that many will believe in and relate to: all kids are dreamers, but adults can still believe in their dreams too. (I Wish currently has no U.S. distribution.) Grade: A-
Alexander Payne’s The Descendants features another strong performance from George Clooney as Matt King, a lawyer, who is close to selling covenant land that his been in his family for generations. Shortly before the sale, Matt finds out his wife has been in a boating accident and lies in a coma—and if that wasn’t enough to deal with, she’s also been cheating on her husband with someone interested in the property. Matt must bring his two daughters together and they must forge a family again, which Matt hasn’t been good at for years. Payne delivers another strong dramedy mixing elements of sharp satire, family dysfunction, and serious life-changing decisions. Equally Clooney in acting chops, Shailene Woodley as older daughter Alexandra will turn some heads around Oscar time; Woodley displays comic timing, emotional anguish, and blunt anger years beyond her age. (The Descendants will be released in the Twin Cities around Thanksgiving.) Grade: A-
I still don’t know what to make of Ben Wheatley’s second feature Kill List, as it divided audiences—and me—at TIFF. What begins as a standard crime film slowly turns into a psychological horror film, with really no rhyme or reason, and fails to deliver to on a promising first half. Jay is approached for another job after failing on his last one; his new “assignment” will help his family out of financial trouble, even if he’s unsure about the mission. As the job moves along, Jay starts questioning everything about the case, the people, and the mysterious job, which really turns weird in the last thirty minutes. I give Wheatley credit for an original twist on the ‘hit men” genre. Even if it does bite off more than it can chew, the film leaves a fiery aftertaste. (IFC Midnight will release Kill List in 2012.) Grade: B-
What had to be the most talked-about performance of the festival was Michael Fassbender’s stunning portrayal of a man dealing with his sexual addiction, in Steve McQueen’s Shame. Fassbender’s Brandon is confronted with his addiction when his sister Sissy (beautifully played by Carey Mulligan) comes to stay with him in his New York bachelor pad. As the two try to reconnect, they are both driven further from each other; McQueen captures this tension with darkly lit rooms, extreme close-ups, and sparse editing, especially in a gorgeous scene that has Sissy singing to Brandon and his boss in a cocktail lounge. Fassbender’s performance however will get people talking: he’s never been better, struggling to change his ways and his behavior. Despite a disappointing ending, Shame still leaves nothing unturned and pushes boundaries at every corner. Shame was picked up by U.S. distributor Fox Searchlight at Toronto. It could be tough to get an “R” rating for what most likely would be NC-17, if nothing is cut, and this film would be a shame to mess with. (Shame will be released in late 2011 or early 2012 to capitalize on Fassbender’s Oscar-worthy performance.) Grade: A-
The South Korean action film Countdown starts out strong and loses focus about midway through as it tries to hard to tie every plot and subplot together. Featuring two of South Korean’s biggest movie stars, actor Jung Jae-Young and actress Jeon Do-youn (best known for the updated The Housemaid and Secret Sunshine) seem to be having fun, even if the plot gets a bit ridiculous. Tae (Jung) is a debt collector who learns he has three months to live unless he gets a new liver. After his son died, his son’s organs were donated; Tae learns that the sultry Cha (Jeon) received his son’s liver, and has just been released from jail. She agrees to donate the liver to Tae, but only if he helps her get even with the guys who put Cha behind bars. First time writer/director, Huh Jong-ho has crafted a decent first film, although Countdown felt longer than its two-hour running time and could have easily been cut down into a slick 90-minute non-stop action film. With some nice action sequences and dazzling cinematography, Countdown should be able to find an American audience; I’m sure the Hollywood remake is well underway. (Countdown currently has no U.S. distribution.) Grade: B-
After her “bromance” Humpday, writer/director Lynn Shelton’s latest feature, Your Sister’s Sister, might be her best film yet. On the advice of best friend Iris (Emily Blunt), slacker Jack (Mark Duplass) goes away to her father’s cabin for a weekend to pull his life together. Thinking he’ll be alone, he meets Iris’s sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt), who has got out of a long term relationship with another woman. Jack and Hannah begin drinking and talking and end up sleeping together. When Iris stops by to check up on Jack, it becomes clear that Jack and Iris have always had a romantic connection—but will Jack tell Iris about his one-night stand with Hannah? Shelton’s film is consistently funny and features great performances from all three, especially DeWitt trying to pick up her own life when she realizes that something has been missing from her life for years; when it is exposed, Your Sister’s Sister starts to reveal layers of depth and insight about relationships, not only with siblings but with loved ones. Also of note, Ben Kasulke’s camera works wonders within the close quarters in the cabin and the beautiful scenery of Puget Sound only adds to the heartbreak. (Your Sister’s Sister was picked up by IFC Films at the festival and will be released in the summer of 2012.) Grade: A-
While there were many laughs in Your Sister’s Sister, there were many unintentional laughs in writer/director Mary Harron’s inept The Moth Diaries, based on the novel by Rachel Klein. Rebecca (Sarah Bolger) is entering her last year at the private boarding school with her best friend Lucy (Sarah Gadon), and everything seems to be status quo until the arrival of new student Ernessa (model Lily Cole), who threatens to ruin their friendship with deadly consequences. What was supposed to be a gothic mystery story, I think, turns into a ludicrous and vapid coming-of-age story with elements of young women’s desires, the supernatural, vampires, and fairies all thrown in to create a would-be spooky atmosphere that completely misfires. Not to mention a laughable anti-climax that concludes with no build-up and ends quicker than say, pulling a trigger. (The Moth Diaries currently has no U.S. distribution.) Grade: F
I’m still thinking about Yorgos Lanthimos’s newest film, ALPS, another loopy and strange story involving a group of people who offer an unusually service of posing as “stand-ins” to families who have just lost someone. Acting the part is easy for most of the ALPS, including a female gymnast and a female nurse who starts to become more involved in her part and ges out on her own without telling the other ALPS. Lanthimos’s film is dry and uniquely comical, especially when the nurse goes in to stand in for a lighting storeowner’s wife, who has her go through a ritual that is downright hilarious. Playing the older sister in Dogtooth and the nurse in ALPS, Aggeliki Papoulia gives another goofy and complex performance. While not quite as compelling as Dogtooth, ALPS never makes a case for why these “stand-ins” want to do this odd work in the first place? Lanthimos leaves plenty of questions for audiences to think about, and anyone willing to work to find deeper meaning in ALPS will be richly rewarded. (ALPS currently has no U.S. distribution.) Grade: B
Jeff, Who Lives at Home, the newest film from Jay & Mark Duplass (Cyrus), starts out promising before taking a huge left turn into some heavy drama, which is new territory for the brothers but didn’t necessarily work for me. Jeff (a game Jason Segal) receives a random phone call from someone looking for “Kevin,” and while out on an errand for his overprotective mother (Susan Sarandon), Jeff runs into his brother Pat (Ed Helms), who is also out on his own mission to find out if his wife is cheating on him. Jeff is looking for a sign or message from anyone or anything to figure out what the meaning of the phone call means and is led into a journey of comic and dramatic proportions. The cast are wonderful, giving everything they have to each role, and the Duplass brothers allow each of them to shine. The look of the film seems to be an upgrade from their earlier mumblecore style. Paramount Pictures will be releasing the film next year, even thogh the shaggy dog story really goes off the rails toward the end. (Paramount Pictures will release Jeff, Who Lives at Home in March 2012.) Grade: B
The midnight entry The Incident squanders a premise that could have been an original take on the inmates-running-the-asylum story, and doesn’t expand on its been-there-done-that idea. For his first feature, French music director Alexandre Courtes has perfected the look and mood of his film but runs out of ideas early on. Band members, George, Max, and Ricky are trying to get their first album recorded; they all work in the cafeteria at a high security asylum and serve food to all the crazies. Separated by a huge glass window from the inmates, George seems to know most of the inmates and is friendly with most of them. One night, the power goes out and all hell breaks loose, with the inmates going after the three men now that the security locks have been disabled, and it becomes apparent the police won’t be showing up until morning: the three must fend for themselves. The Incident has plenty of gore and violence to keep some of the horror fiends happy, but a late and sour twist arrives that is less than surprising; you’d think that you’ve just sat through a violent yet bland episode of The Twilight Zone. (The Incident was picked up by IFC Midnight at the festival, but currently has no U.S. release date.) Grade: C-
The last film I saw was Academy-Award-winning screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher’s directorial debut, Violet & Daisy, a violent and talky hit-women dark comedy that was a complete bore: unfunny, a drag, and repulsive most of the time. Violet (Alexis Bledel) is more experienced than Daisy (Saoirse Ronan) when it comes to killing people. When their next job becomes to kill Michael (The Sopranos‘s James Gandolfini), things get complicated when both Violet and Daisy decide not to waste him right away but instead get to know him first. He bakes cookies for them and they run out of bullets, leaving Daisy to discuss her occupation with Michael. Two bright spots in the film are not even on screen, but cinematographer Vanja Cernjul and editor Joe Klotz make some stylish action sequence pop especially in perhaps the only enjoyable—if outlandish—scene: when Violet goes to the hardware store to buy bullets. The entire cast of Violet & Daisy seemed to be have a good time being in the film, but for me it was a chore to sit through: a pretentious and lazy mess. (Violet & Daisy currently has no U.S. distribution.) Grade: D
Photo: Your Sister’s Sister, courtesy TIFF and IFC Films
Comment