All posts tagged: Toronto Film Festival

Doc on Black-Jewish Relations in America

Doc on Black-Jewish Relations in America

Published by Daniella Wilson

The coalition between Blacks and Jews was integral to shaping 20th-century America, steering entertainment, sports and politics as two groups often “othered” within our cultural tapestry found power in unity. But where shared values and purpose led to joint fights against fascism and prejudice, events like the Crown Heights riots and the aftermath of the tragedies of October 7, 2023, exposed schisms. The relationship has been so crucial to the identities of both groups and to our country that Henry Louis Gates Jr. produced Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History, which premiered on PBS in February of this year. It’s a great docuseries, though one that feels like it’s barely scratching the surface of this interwoven history in four hours. Re/Pair The Bottom Line So-so as history, but a potent conversation-starter. Venue: Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF Docs)Director: Lacey Schwartz Delgado 1 hour 41 minutes It’s no surprise, then, that Lacey Schwartz Delgado’s Re/Pair, a new 101-minute documentary premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, feels important but short of essential. If you haven’t …

Helen Mirren as Patricia Highsmith

Helen Mirren as Patricia Highsmith

Published by Daniella Wilson

Patricia Highsmith was known to have a nasty personality: misanthropic, racist and anti-Semitic. She was even better known as a brilliant crime novelist, able to delve into the minds of murderers. Does it take a killer to know a killer? That is one of the tantalizing questions bubbling up in A Talent for Murder, in which Helen Mirren embodies Highsmith in all her devious, scowling genius. Although the film is true to Highsmith’s character, the story is entirely made up. Alden Ehrenreich plays the invented Edward Ridgeway, a young representative from Highsmith’s New York publisher, sent to persuade her to write a sixth novel about Tom Ripley. In reality, she wrote five, with The Talented Mr. Ripley her most acclaimed. Playing off her Ripley character, A Talent for Murder spins out into two other storylines as it becomes a cat-and-mouse game — or maybe a cat-and-cat game — between Highsmith and the guest she has reluctantly allowed into her home. A Talent for Murder The Bottom Line An engaging riff on an author and her …

Annie Murphy in a Mostly Fizzy Rom-Com

Annie Murphy in a Mostly Fizzy Rom-Com

Published by Daniella Wilson

As we meet Emma, a spirited professional dancer played by the exceptionally spirited Annie Murphy, she’s about to turn her life upside down. And who can blame her? She’s in her 30s and her latest gig, a commercial for panty liners, has her slithering around in a Santa’s helper getup. At home that night, she suffers the latest indignities from her controlling longtime boyfriend — a brief, sharp turn from Finn Wittrock, dispensing put-downs while sculpting his jawline with gua sha. Presto change-o, Emma is single again, for the first time in 10 years, and determined to start a new career — huge upheavals, but in the exuberant froth of All That She Wants, no learning curve involves truly dangerous hairpin turns. The screenplay is by David West Read, creator of The Big Door Prize and, more to the point, a writer and executive producer of Schitt’s Creek, the show that put Murphy on the map. Read is well acquainted with the topspin that Murphy can bring to a line (or even a groan), and …

Cynthia Erivo in Misguided Adaptation

Cynthia Erivo in Misguided Adaptation

Published by Daniella Wilson

Prima Facie carries a bracing, important, timely lesson about getting justice for victims of rape. Cynthia Erivo plays Tessa Ensler, a rising star among British barristers, who often deals with assault cases, and whose world crumbles along with her belief in the legal system when she herself is assaulted by a colleague she was dating. Suzie Miller wrote the screenplay, expanding on her one-woman stage version, which won the 2023 Olivier for Best New Play, along with the Best Actress Olivier and a Tony for Jodie Comer, and its easy to see how well it might have worked in the theater with a galvanizing performance. But there is no use sugar-coating the huge disappointment the film turns out to be. As a message, Prima Facie is still a howl of rage and a plea for change. But as a film it is a near-total muddle, from the clunky recurring voiceover to the cringey, obvious visuals and a preachy ending, with only some stunning supporting performances and a brief, powerful middle section to redeem it. Prima …

‘Onwards and Sideways,’ With Laura Linney, Rhys Ifans

‘Onwards and Sideways,’ With Laura Linney, Rhys Ifans

Published by Daniella Wilson

Onwards and Sideways is going across the pond to world premiere at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in a TIFF Gala Presentation, it was unveiled Monday morning. And The Hollywood Reporter can now exclusively unveil new images from the film from John Gore Studios and Hilltop Screen, starring Emmy and Golden Globe winner Laura Linney (Ozark, Love Actually, John Adams) and BAFTA winner Rhys Ifans (Inheritance, Venom: The Last Dance, House of the Dragon) as two people with lots in common – a great sense of humor, a love of dance, and, as just diagnosed, Parkinson’s.  ‘Onwards and Sideways’ Courtesy of BBC/Hilltop Screen The “emotional and surprisingly funny” film by John Madden (Shakespeare in Love, Operation Mincemeat, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), based on a script by Paul Mayhew-Archer (The Vicar of Dibley, Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot and co-host of Parkinson’s podcast Movers and Shakers), will follow up its TIFF premiere with a release in cinemas across the U.K. and U.S. ahead of its release on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. Produced by Hilltop Screen for John Gore Studios and the …