WEDNESDAY, SEPT 12, 2007
DAY 7
The first week of the festival is already over and 30 films down - the lack of sleep is clearly setting in and the coffee is not winning - figuring on four hours most per night after shuttling off home after the gala nights before and no weekend crash in sight. After the mad rush hour dash down to the Scotiabank theatre it was an elegant afternoon at Elgin for Woody Allen and Cassandra's Dream, Keira Knightley and James McAvoy in Atonement and the nouvelle vague [French new wave]'s Claude Chabrol's La coupee en deux capped off with the innovative look at Bob Dylan in Todd Haynes's I'm Not There.
BILL
9:00 a.m.
Scotiabank 1
You don't have to pay me to be your friend
A very strong comedy with a sardonicism along the lines of Igby Goes Down, Aaron Eckhart off last year's Thank You For Smoking dons the persona of Bill, a disillusioned man at his high school for a ceremony. Bill has married into a wealthy family, and been given a high level position vice-president of Human Resources at the First Family Bank. Bill's face is on the posters for the bank alongside his father-in-law, the president to whom he reports and with whom of course he has the family dinner with his wife, Jess. Jess, the hot blond Elizabeth Banks [the face behind Betty Brant on the Spider-Man franchise] may be having an affair with the local TV anchorman Chip Johnson [Timothy Olyphant] - a suspicion Bill has cultivated that develops into a restraining order against Bill.
The frustrated Bill, demonstrated by a drawer full of Snickers bars he keeps in his desk and a stash around the house, has a plan to get out of the bank: investing in a doughnut franchise, not too unlike Krispy Kreme.
At this point in Bill's life, in comes Logan Lerman as the Kid who comes in as part of the school mentoring program. Bill has "no time" in his non-existent schedule for this Kid who is full of smarm and self-confidence not to mention a well-laden wallet which he uses to get inside the charms of Lucy [Jessica Alba] as the lingerie saleslady. Always two there are, but which one is the mentor and which one is the master?
Bill endures a series of very public humiliations [ as does Jess herself ] as a consequence of his suspicions about his wife and Chip. But in a turnabout, The Kid helps Bill not just get back, but get even with life and his wife, developing self-confidence with a snappy new wardrobe and getting back into shape in the pool, and the Kid securing Jessica Alba as Bill's "wife" who agrees to stand-in during the appointments with the doughnut franchisers [albeit for a price]. Everything blows up at the end as Bill's father-in-law decides to run for mayor and make the announcement at the party and ...
CASSANDRA'S DREAM
11:00 a.m.
Elgin
Ain't life grand?
It is only with the slightest whiff of irony that Cassandra's Dream could evoke such a statement from one of the stars, but under the helm of Woody Allen, he leads his star tandem of Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell through a tale of two woeful constantly skint brothers Terry (Colin Farrell) and Ian (Ewan McGregor) who each have a dream of life outside the restaurant kitchen and garage of south London. The brothers evidently have a clear and tight bond with each other. It all starts with a sleek sailboat they have their eye on and trying to come up with the means to get the money. The problem is solved when Terry wins a longshot bet at the dograces on one called Cassandra's Dream - and hence the name of the boat.
Ian likes to dress sharp and drive in style [ borrowing a flashy car from his brother at the garage ] - he has dreams of being a spa owner in California and he catches the eye of the lead attractive actress Angela (dark-haired Hayley Atwell) with ambitions of her own at a play he attends and who he begins to court in hopes of taking her to America with him. The brothers sail on the boat with their new girlfriends and life looks good.
Terry's streaks of luck come and go - it is clear he has a longstanding issue with drinking and gambling way beyond his means - and finally it seems the boys' luck has run out.
The brothers' Uncle Howard squeezes a grand favour from the boys in order to secure future safety and financial backing - one that puts them in a dicey dilemma. Watching the brothers react in horror to the idea - Terry crumbles and Ian tries to dodge the bullet - but once it is clear they have run out of time they have to act.
Cassandra's Dream is a worthy and quick successor to the latest line of Scoop and Match Point - each little gems of a morality play - that shows Woody Allen still has that sharp edge. Ewan McGregor still gets by on his charm while Colin Farrell as the inwardly imploding brother who draws the audience deeper into this very dark comedy.
ATONEMENT
ELGIN
2:15 p.m.
I just wanted to give them the happiness they deserve
BAFTA winning director Joe Wright was nice enough to show up for the afternoon gala but too tired to do a question and answer. However, he led off with a nice story about growing up and audience participation and how it related to the movie.
Atonement is a story of the imagination - what goes on in the mind of a little girl sets the course for this drama. It is not a new theme, along the lines of The Bad Seed, The Children's Hour where a child's imaginings take over with grave consequences to the victims.
Atonement brings Keira Knightley and James McAvoy full circle - Academy Award nominated Keira Knightley back in 2005 starring in Joe Wright's directed Pride and Prejudice, James McAvoy appeared in Becoming Jane, [Jane Austen, that is]. Atonement is fuelled by heightened imagination and dramatically charged with below the surface tension and yearning - and will definitely lead us to reading this well-read novel by Ian McEwan.
Set in 1935, before the war to come, Robbie [James McAvoy} is the son of one of the servants of the Tallis mansion, and a polite model of decorum and manner who has been educated at Cambridge, who hopes to catch the attention of Cecilia, the eldest daughter of the Tallis family. But an innocent incident between Cecilia and Robbie at the fountain at the mansion is seen through the eyes of the young and precocious daughter Briony in an entirely different light. Briony has her own feelings for Robbie, and one night once again what Briony's active imagination fuelled by jealousy claims to have seen one night and who she accuses as the culprit sets the future of everyone around her with dramatic consequences well into the future.
La fille coupée en deux
North America premiere
ELGIN
6:00 p.m.
After a brief introduction about nouvelle vague director Claude Chabrol by TIFF CEO Piers Handling, we were blessed by the presence of Ludivine Sagnier who walked on stage and said a few brief words to the Toronto crowd: "it's my first time in Toronto"
Vous me dégueulez
The nouvelle vague is back at TIFF this year. Claude Chabrol [L'Enfer, Betty, Ceremonie amongst 90 plus films] is back in all his fine form and fury with La Fille Coupée en deux. The film is commanded by a fierce performance from Ludivine Sagnier [notably from Swimming Pool and 8 Femmes]. Submission and hints of something sinister are a subtle subtext to this film that on surface is glossy and brimming with bright music with superb performances from François Berléand and Benoît Magimel as the men duelling for the affections of Ludivine.
Ludivine Sagnier's character is television weathergirl Gabrielle Aurore Deneige [ last name Snow in English ] but she is anything but pure as Charles Saint-Denis [ François Berléand from TIFF 2000Stardom ]is the famous writer who meets her at a booksigning at her mother's store and he as an older father figure teaches her in the ways of love while competing for her affections is a rich and young spoiled playboy Paul André Claude Gaudens [Benoît Magimel from La Haine], the heir to the Gaudens drug fortune who is smitten by her as well. On the surface Charles Saint-Denis is a kindly old gentleman who is having a florid affair with a younger woman while he will not leave his wife. But on the day of her birthday, and the aftermath there is evidence something sadistic untoward going on.
There is some dark secret between Saint-Denis and Gaudens which leads to Gaudens' bitter feelings towards Saint-Denis. Deneige allows herself to be courted by both these men, one whom by his ways and charms has her on a string, and the other because he is there with his youth and money. Will Gabrielle make the ultimate choice?
La fille coupée en deux shows the fearlessness in the roles which Ludivine Sagnier
takes to heart, and in the end of the film Gabrielle is the true hero, remaining true to her self.
I'M NOT THERE
8:30 p.m.
Ryerson
An incredible bio picture of the multi-faceted Bob Dylan brought to life. The chameleon is portrayed by a wide range of seven stars from Christian Bale to Heath Ledger to the audacious Cate Blanchett who assumes the most recognized 60s incarnaton. I'm Not There is an extremely likable film with great performances throughout. The first phase of Dylan is Woody played as an 11 year old black by Marcus Carl Franklin who has a voice that has to be heard to be believed in the duet of Tombstone Blues with Ritchie Heavens. That so many actors can emerge in the guise of one life has been seen before in movies such as Todd Solondz Palindromes or in a Luis Bunuel films. And then there is the Dylan music, the sheer breadth of the music whose familiar refrains are the brick and mortar of this film.
Todd Haynes who always come up with something interesting as evidenced by Far From Heaven, Velvet Goldmine and Safe is to be commended for the remarkable achievement that is I'm Not There
Cate Blanchett as the Jude incarnation uncannily captures all the nuances of the shaded Bob Dylan and gets the voice just about right.
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