Another fall season, another deluge of fall film festival movies and previews. If you’ve been playing along, and hopefully, you have, you’ve already seen our coverage from the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado and Italy’s Venice International Film Festival. These two fests are the one-two punch that kicks off the season (and in some respects, Oscar season two), but making its presence known in the September deluge is the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada.
READ MORE: Fall 2021 Movie Preview: 60+ Must-See Films
Truthfully and logistically, Toronto’s had a harder time than any of the other festivals this fall, having to deal with COVID-19 protocols that were a bit more last minute and restrictive than the festival would like. This led to a hybrid year, part physical, part online, and digital, and a bit of a headache for some journalists. That’s not necessarily your problem, but it is the truth of the matter.
READ MORE: Venice Film Festival 2021 Preview: 12 Must-See Films To Watch
World premiere-wise, there’s still a lot of interesting-looking films like “The Eyes Of Tammy Faye” starring Jessica Chastain, “The Forgiven” from director John Michael McDonough also starring Chastain again and Ralph Fiennes, Ava DuVernay‘s “Colin In Black and White,” mini-series for Netflix, Antoine Fuqua’s “The Guilty” with Jake Gyllenhaal, Barry Levinson’s “The Survivor” with Ben Foster, a new directorial effort from Melanie Laurent, and many, many more. Here’s a quick taste of titles to look out for at Toronto.
READ MORE: Telluride 2021 Preview: 10 Must-See Films To Watch
Why you could argue a lack of red carpet and the glitz that usually defines TIFF hurt their line-up this year, Toronto is still pretty damn strong with a line-up that includes festival favorites like “Dune,” Pablo Larrain’s “Spencer,” Jane Campion’s “The Power Of The Dog” and the likes.
Follow along with our full coverage from the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival here.
“All My Puny Sorrows”
Adapted from author Miriam Toews’ acclaimed novel of the same name, “All My Puny Sorrows,” finds director Michael McGowan (“Still Mine”) returning to Toronto after a near-decade hiatus. Following 2 sisters, Yoli and Elf (Alison Pill & Sarah Gadon), with distinct artistic talents (the former is a writer; the latter, a pianist) dealing with divorce and depression. Raised as part of a patriarchal Mennonite community, the like-minded siblings discover solace in a shared love for literature, finding meaning in authors ranging from Philip Larkin to D.H. Lawrence.
“Benediction”
Last seen at TIFF after helming the Emily Dickenson biopic, “A Quiet Passion,” period romanticist Terence Davies returns to the fest scene with “Benediction”—a stream of consciousness take on the director’s trademark evocation of lyrical memory. Set during World War I, Davies’ newest tells the story of English poet/soldier Siegfried Sassoon, who befriends a fellow creative after being hospitalized. Starring Jack Lowden and Peter Capaldi as Sassoon—depending on the time period—“Benediction” has just about everything going for it that has brought its director much success in the past.
“Colin in Black and White”
Following up the emotionally searing “When They See Us,” Ava Duvernay teams with quarterback Colin Kaepernick for her latest Netflix miniseries. A retelling/reenactment of Kaepernick’s story as told through his own voice-over, “Colin in Black and White,” tracks the athlete’s life from adolescence to that fateful day he took a silent knee, dividing our evangelical nation. Considering the sobering power of Duvernay’s all-too essential documentary “13th” (if you haven’t seen it, get on it), expect her Kaepernick project to make waves, recontextualizing political news phenomena via the biracial experiences which led to an iconic act of bravery.
“Dear Evan Hansen”
One of the most buzzed-about titles of the season, “Dear Evan Hansen,” aims to translate Tony award-winning stage success to the big screen. Starring Ben Platt (reprising his role) and directed by “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” helmer Stephen Chbosky, ‘Evan Hansen’ has all the makings of an Oscar player, right down to co-starring Julianne Moore and Amy Adams. The story of an anxious high schooler who tries reframing his negative thought process via writing optimistic letters to himself but incidentally manifesting friendships that don’t exist. It’s a perfect fit for Chbosky, whose epistolary novel covers similar mental health territory.
“Earwig”
“A young girl with ice cubes for teeth begins a mysterious journey, in director Lucile Hadžihalilović‘s hallucinatory, haunting, and beautiful film.” Alright… we’re intrigued. Co-penned by Geoff Cox (Claire Denis’ “High Life”), “Earwig” sounds like a claustrophobic, Kafkaesque suspense exercise. Set in a European apartment sometime over the last century, Romola Garai (“The Crimson Petal and the White,” “Atonement“) stars as the girl with an ice cube grin, actor Paul Hilton playing her caretaker. Tapping into a painterly command over chiaroscuro compositions, “Earwig” is Hadžihalilović’s first English language film, but it’s her dreary discombobulating of space and time that makes her newest flick stand out.