“Submergence”
Cast: James McAvoy, Alicia Vikander
Synopsis: A globe-trotting romance about a water engineer (James McAvoy) and a deep-sea researcher (Oscar winner Alicia Vikander) striving to reconnect although separated by oceans, continents, and civil war.
What You Need to Know: With such an abundance of talent on board, it’s hard not to worry about the outcome of master director Wim Wenders latest film following the misstep of “Every Thing Will Be Fine” which largely, was simply forgettable. That being said, that talent on board, including Wenders, is plentiful and there’s a reason why he’s considered a visionarity. Alicia Vikander hasn’t since had the one, two, three punch that was “Testament of Youth”, “Ex Machina” and “The Danish Girl” while James McAvoy has largely been used up in the B-Side of Marvel/X-Men films that grow increasingly ludicrous. Both remarkable actors and with such a talented filmmaker behind the camera and a storyline that sounds, on paper, like meaty and emotional materia, we can only hope this defies expectations. -AJ
“Molly’s Game”
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner
Synopsis: 26-year-old Olympic-class skier Molly Bloom (Chastain) soon finds herself at the center of one of the most lucrative — and dangerous — underground poker empires in the world, soon attracting celebrities, athletes, business tycoons, the Russian mob and the FBI.
What You Need to Know: Truth be told, we’re genuinely surprised that it took this long for Academy Award-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin to make his directorial debut. The pen behind “The West Wing,” “The Social Network,” “The Newsroom,” “A Few Good Men” and “Moneyball” is among the most well-known writers working today, yet despite nearly 25 years in the business, he never once jumped behind the camera. Not even for a single episode of television. Not even for a festival-run short film. But that, of course, changes with “Molly’s Game,” and it’s not as if he’s going to jump into the chair quietly. He brings with him a treasure trove of high-quality talent in front of and behind the camera, with a premise that’s right up his alley. Based on Molly Bloom’s memoir of the same name, it took Sorkin longer than expected to become a director, but we hope it’s worth the wait. – Will Ashton
“Lady Bird”
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Lucas Hedges, Tracy Letts
Synopsis: A year in the life of a Northern California high school girl (Ronan) who plans to escape her local friends and family in her small town by moving to New York for college.
What You Need to Know: As both an actress and screenwriter, Greta Gerwig is a delight. She exudes wit, heart, soul, character and passion for days. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who isn’t instantly warmed by her radiant talents. She was destined to jump into directing eventually, and that time is now. While “Lady Bird” isn’t necessarily her directorial debut per se (she previously co-directed the 2008 independent drama “Nights and Weekends” with Joe Swanberg), it’s her first solo effort inside the big chair, at least, and there’s hardly any reason to believe it won’t be just as charming, impressive and endearing as anything she has created before. Early reports coming from neighboring and adjacent film festivals are heartily promising a coming-of-age winner that’s just as lovable and invigorated as anything Gerwig wrote and starred in before, and we have good reason to believe (or, at the very least, hope) that it’s just the beginning for her directing prospects (our Telluride review here). – WA
“Breathe”
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Diana Rigg
Synopsis: The inspiring true love story of Robin and Diana Cavendish, an adventurous couple who refuse to give up in the face of a devastating disease.
What You Need To Know: It’s fascinating. Actor Andy Serkis has become the world’s go-to motion-capture actor, has started his own Mo-Cap-centric studio like WETA and is playing what is supposed to be a hyper elaborate and dark “The Jungle Book” movie. But for his directorial debut? The ‘Planet Of The Apes’ actor tilts expectations on their head to helms a heartwarming celebration of human possibility. Robin (Garfield) is stricken with rapid-onset polio, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down, but husband and wife (Foy) undertake an activist mission to de-marginalize the disabled and developing transformative technologies, such as respirator wheelchairs and hydraulic lifts. A feel good weepie perhaps? One to keep an eye on regardless. – RP
“My Days Of Mercy”
Cast: Kate Mara, Ellen Page
Synopsis: The daughter of a man on death row falls in love with a woman on the opposing side of her family’s political cause.
What You Need To Know: Helmed by Israeli filmmaker Tali Shalom-Ezer (2014’s Sundance World dramatic film “Princess”), “My Days of Mercy” is certainly her starriest and biggest film to date. Two opposite sides of the political coin — an anti-death penalty activist and pro-police-justice supporter—could be bitter enemies, but an undeniable connection turns from curiosity and eventually passion. But a big twist (spelled out in the synopsis of the film and the TIFF guide, so don’t shoot us) threatens to upend the entire relationship. The always engaging Amy Seimetz co-stars. – RP
Honorable Mention:
Looks we could be there all day, but with 250+ films we can only anticipate so many titles in this piece, gut there are dozens and dozens of other films we’re dying to see. Top of mind is Clio Barnard “Dark River” and she directed the fabulous “The Selfish Giant“; Armando Ianucci‘s “The Death Of Stalin,” Annapurna Picture‘s “Professor Marston & The Wonder Women” a biopic about the creator of Wonder woman; Melanie Laurent‘s latest directorial debut “Plonger“; Chloé Zhao’s “The Rider“; Richard Eyre‘s “The Children Act” with Emma Thompson; “Borg/McEnroe” with Shia LaBeouf, season two of “The Girlfriend Experience,” and… there’s dozens more. But these 30 plus titles mentioned herein are the key, ones-to-watch pictures, trust us.
