Hello Dayton937 & NEON Fans!
It’s only Day #4, and I’m starting to drag a bit. That said, I’ve now seen 15 films, met up with old friends, rubbed elbows with some big wigs, written a daily blog, kept up with NEON business from home and hobnobbed with some colleagues…all in just 4 days…so it’s no surprise. When 15 minute naps are possible, I take them.
The first little photo on this blog entry is a brilliant marketing effort for my first film of the day – DEAD MAN’S WIRE (dir: Gus Van Sant – USA) “Featuring captivating performances from Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Colman Domingo, and Al Pacino, Gus Van Sant’s latest recreates the strange, fascinating true story of the 1977 kidnapping that made aspiring Indianapolis entrepreneur Tony Kiritsis into an eccentric outlaw folk hero.” (TIFF catalog). It’s so hard not to contextualize this film into right now with so many people embracing Luigi Mangione – as this is a story of a man who felt wronged by a mortgage company and their capitalistic greed. I did not know the story of Tony Kiritsis, but this film and its character’s motives speaks greatly to the anti-establishment, and it feels like an homage to films from the 70’s (and it works on a lot of levels). Though I initially questioned some of Bill Skarsgård’s choices as too performative and over-the-top, I eventually bought into them as part of true character choices. It’s a tight film, and I think it will find distribution.
There’s no trailer yet…just this still:
My next film was my first documentary of the festival – MODERN WHORE (dir: Nicole Bazuin – Canada) “Andrea Werhun and Nicole Bazuin challenge toxic misconceptions about sex work and sex workers with great audacity and high style.” (TIFF catalog). I agreed with so much of what this film had to say, but I found its style and form as trying too hard – with campy aesthetics and too much “winking” at the camera. It seems like it will be well-suited for clickbait on a streaming service…and maybe that’s where it’s message really needs to be heard.
My next film before my first small break of the day was & SONS (dir: Pablo Trapero – United Kingdom, Canada) “This dramatic adaptation of David Gilbert’s 2013 novel, co-written by Oscar-winner Sarah Polley and directed by Pablo Trapero (TIFF ’15’s The Clan), stars Bill Nighy as a reclusive literary superstar who calls his sons home for an unbelievable announcement.” (TIFF catalog). I adore Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton, so I had to check out this film. I don’t want to give away too much of this film – as the surprise announcement that Nighy’s character makes is a stunning…and leads to some debate (within the film and the audience in the lobby). I’m wondering how this film will be marketed…will they reveal this announcement or try to keep it under wraps? At the end of the day, Nighy is a big (though physically shrinking) alcoholic who commands a room when he has something to say. I found his character off-putting – but the performance quite good. That said, it’s Staunton who is the soul of the film. She has the best moments and will break your heart. There’s one climatic-like scene that turned me off a bit…but I was also terribly tired during this film…so I’m going to be a bit forgiving. It’s well done overall.
There is no trailer yet, just a still photo:
My last film of the day was from Steven Soderbergh – who works as well in the indie world as big Hollywood – THE CHRISTOPHERS (dir: Steven Soderbergh – United Kingdom) “The great Ian McKellen and I May Destroy You’s Michaela Coel make a brilliant pairing in Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh’s incisively witty chamber comedy about art, commerce, and avarice.” (TIFF catalog) With a very strong screenplay and incredible central performances from McKellen and Michaela Coel, this whip-smart film is as funny as it is touching. Though McKellen couldn’t attend due to doctors’ orders, he sent along a personal greeting to the TIFF audience…as we were the very first to see the finished film. The Q&A following the film with Soderbergh, Coel and writer Ed Solomon and actor Jessica Gunning was fantastic. I’m 15 films deep at this point, and THE CHRISTOPHERS is my personal favorite.
There’s no trailer yet, just a still:
An add-on of THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE is happening tomorrow morning (as I had hoped), so I need to make my way out early to get a spot in line.
Thanks so much for reading,
Jonathan
Catch Jonathan’s previous tiff posts:
The illuminated sign on King Street West indicates the start of the festival!
Day2 post
