American Pastoral
Directed by: Ewan McGregor
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Jennifer Connelly, Dakota Fanning
Based on the novel by Philip Roth, American Pastoral tells the story of a family torn apart by the choices of their daughter. Ewan stars and makes his directorial debut here, in what I felt was a well paced think piece. Acting was standout, especially from our two female leads - honestly, Jennifer Connelly really has the market cornered on playing tortured wives - and I really liked this (insofar as you can 'like' a disturbing film). Overall, the film was not well received and I'm unsure why. A friend tells me critics are "often very hard on actors directing themselves on what could be perceived as overly self-serious semi-vanity projects especially when the source material has such a prestigious pedigree as it smacks of a too overt bid for artistic self-importance" (my friend is very smart) Well, okay - I don't think Ewan's that guy. And this film wasn't that film. I'll stand behind this one and only offer a mild critique that Jen & Ewan didn't really seem to age at all in the 20 year timeframe of the movie. But, then again, neither have we in the real life, right? So, never mind ...
Tramps
Directed by: Adam Leon
Starring: Callum Turner, Grace Van Patten, Mike Birbiglia
The problem with many "meet cute" rom-coms is they're just so .. dumb. Full of cliches, tropes and predictability. In simply genre terms, Tramps is a "meet cute" rom-com without all that. Our unlikely couple are thrown together by their respective shady pals to pull off a classic "drop", what transpires in the action is rather fun and what transpires between them is quite charming. I enjoyed this one for its dialogue and winsome duo. It's not going to knock your socks off, but it won't make you poke your eyes out with a chopstick like most rom-coms do these days. This is winning.
I am the Pretty Face That Lives in the House
Directed by: Osgood Perkins
Starring : Ruth Wilson
I've called his movie many things in the weeks leading up to the screening. I've put this pretty face under the stairs, in the closet, sometimes there's more than one face, other times it's just a thing - holy crap, what a terrible title! Was the movie any better? I'm going to say, not much. Based on the synopsis, it's the story of a hospice worker (Ruth) who comes to look after an aged former horror writer. It soon becomes clear that things are not as they seem in this old, abandoned house. I thought this was going to be a spookier Misery. Nope. Aside from one scene it wasn't very spooky - and remember, I hate and never watch horror movies so don't have a baseline for spooky. This was not at all spooky! All around disappointing, aside from stellar work from Ruth who carried what was basically a one woman show. Incredible performance in a rather meh film.
The Bleeder
Directed by: Philippe Falardeau
Starring: Liev Schreiber, Elizabeth Moss, Naomi Watts
Full disclosure: I love sports movies. The underdog fighting against the odds mythology is incredibly powerful especially if the payoff, in great sports movies, is rewarding and delivered without cliched predictability. Boxing movies take this mythology to the next level - there's only one guy taking all the punches, and usually in these films the punches aren't only flying in the ring. The Bleeder is indeed a boxing movie, and also the true story Chuck Wepner, a boxer not known for his talent or skill, but more so for his simple ability to take a punch. This tenacity made him the the inspiration for Stallone's Rocky. Oh yeah, that little boxing movie. Overall, this film is standard biopic fare - we move through Chuck's life as he takes on fight after fight, lives his life in Bayonne New Jersey, gets in trouble, loses and wins life's lotteries and tries to find a place for himself outside the ring. It's not earth shattering stuff, but it's compelling as a character study (how many punches can you take before you just can't get up again) and an acting master class. Liev was incredible. Elizabeth astounding. Naomi brilliant. You need the best to deliver simple stories and we absolutely got the best here. Capping off the night was probably one of the best Q&As I've ever been to at TIFF where, of course, Chuck regaled the crowd with his larger than life personality and true love for the people who brought his life to the big screen (again, but for real this time). This one wasn't perfect, but I loved it all the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment