FIVE FILMS THAT SHOULD BE ON YOUR TIFF WISHLIST

It’s that time of year again! TIFF is upon us, and with it comes the excruciating decision of choosing movies to watch. Of the 300-plus movies that TIFF has to offer, here are the top 5 films that stuck out after looking through the massive schedule for the hundredth time:

Beautiful Boy (dir. Felix Van Groeningen)

Last year, Timothy Chalamet took TIFF (and the World) by storm with his heart-wrenching and star-making turn in Call Me By Your Name as Elio, the film’s protagonist. Beautiful Boy promises another meaty role for Chalamet, where he stars as meth-addict Nic opposite Steve Carrell as his father, David. The film, with its heavy overtones and heavyweight casting, will surely be a major part of this year’s awards chatter, and just another stepping stone on Chalet’s rise to the top. If nothing else, the film is reuniting The Office flames Carrell and Amy Ryan, and I look forward to seeing them onscreen together once again.

First Man (dir. Damian Chazelle)

First Man rejoins the Actor-Writer/Director partnership of Ryan Gosling and Damien Chazelle since their near-Best Picture-winning La La Land two years ago and the latter’s first feature since winning the Academy Award for Best Director. This time, Chazelle aims for something a bit grander than the hopes and dreams of two artists—the hopes and dreams of humanity, or at the very least of the American People. First Man depicts the story of American Hero Neil Armstrong, (Gosling) the first man to walk on the moon. Chazelle’s electric and dynamic direction in his previous features — especially the frenetic energy of Whiplash — are what pull me to First Man most, but Gosling’s high success rate in the roles he chooses definitely seals the deal.

If Beale Street Could Talk (dir. Barry Jenkins)

Just as the histories of La La Land and Moonlight are forever entwined due to the Oscars mishap of 2017, so it seems are the career trajectories of Chazelle and Moonlight director Barry Jenkins. Jenkins returns to Toronto with his Moonlight follow-up this year, with the adaptation of James Baldwin’s “If Beale Street Could Talk”. The film is a romantic drama that follows Tish (Kiki Layne) as she attempts to clear her finance’s name after he is falsely imprisoned. I would be itching to see this based on Jenkins’s Moonlight bonafides alone — not to mention the incredible story this will surely be — but the film also boasts a deep bench of talent, perhaps most notably Regina King, who I would watch in anything.

Roma (dir. Alfonso Cuarón)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp_i7cnOgbQ

Alfonso Cuarón has made his mark in Hollywood over the last few years by directing some of the most visually stunning sci-fi/action/fantasy films like the 3rd Harry Potter movie (2004) and Children of Men (2006). This year, he will be releasing his latest film with Netflix, and perhaps fitting for the platform, it is apparently his most intimate one yet. Roma returns Cuarón to his roots — like the film that put him on the map, Y Tu Mamá También (2001), this black-and-white film was shot and set in his homeland, Mexico. The film is a deeply personal project that draws from Cuarón’s own childhood memories and focuses on domestic workers in Mexico City during the 1970s. A larger spectacle film like 2013’s Gravity may have given the director his Oscars, but I’m excited to such a proficient director’s take on what is definitely an underrepresented and specific story.

Wildlife (dir. Paul Dano)

Paul Dano has spent years as one of Hollywood’s most interesting and often overlooked character actors. This year, Dano brings his directorial debut, Wildlife, to TIFF, and it looks fantastic. The film stars Carey Mulligan as Jeanette, a housewife living in the 1960s, who yearns for something greater, and Jake Gyllenhaal as Jerry, her golf-pro husband, who abandons her and their son (newcomer Ed Oxenbould) to fight a massive fire on the Canadian border. Gyllenhaal and Mulligan have both proven themselves to be dramatic powerhouses time and time again, so their attachment alone has me buzzing with excitement for this film. Add in the 60s as a backdrop, and talk of Dano’s impressive direction, and I’m hooked!

Honourable Mentions:

A Star is Born (dir. Bradley Cooper)

Destroyer (dir. Karyn Kusama)

The Old Man and the Gun (dir. David Lowery)

Everybody Knows (dir. Asghar Farhadi)

Gloria Bell (dir. Sebastián Lelio)

Vox Lux (dir. Brady Corbet)