TIFF Review: CAFE DE FLORE

Written and Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée

Starring Vanessa Paradis, Kevin Parent, Helene Florent and Evelyne Brochu

When it comes to love, sometimes it feels as if there are greater forces at work and that we have no control over who we’re drawn to or how deeply we can feel. For some, a love as untamable as this is often considered to be destiny, as if it were written in the stars long before we were ever born. This sense of romance intertwined with fate runs rampant if Quebec filmmaker, Jean-Marc Vallée’s latest feature, CAFE DE FLORE, a love story that needs more than one lifetime in order to work itself out.

With CAFE DE FLORE, Vallée finds a voice as a director he seemed to have lost in his last outing, THE YOUNG VICTORIA. While the period piece was certainly beautiful and had its moments, it played out as, well, already played out. None of the urgency or energy Vallée created with his previous feature and biggest hit, C.R.A.Z.Y., was anywhere to be found. Perhaps it was a language thing because in returning to French language filmmaking again, Vallée is alive in all the choices he makes. And he would need to be on top of every moment in order to make this complex tale come off right. Vallée cuts back and forth between a present day Montreal romance involving a husband (Kevin Parent) who leaves the woman he’s been with since he was a teenager (Helene Florent) for another (Evelyne Brochu) and a complicated relationship between a mother (Vanessa Paradis) and her mentally challenged son (Marin Gerrier) taking place 50 years earlier in Paris.

Whether you enjoy CAFE DE FLORE or not will depend on whether you buy into the connection between these two plots. Vallée tells them both with great style; at times, the editing unspools like a record being mixed and scratched by a DJ, surely done to compliment the main character’s career as one. In fact, a general connection to music is a theme that runs throughout and ties characters together when nothing else is working.   Love itself, and the relationships that spring from it, is hard enough to figure out on its own and Vallée infuses this journey towards understanding into his storytelling. To his credit, Vallée inspires a fair amount of curiosity but the anticipation he builds throughout the film ends up being slightly more satisfying than the destination.

TIFF Review: 50/50

Written by Will Reiser

Directed by Jonathan Levine

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, 

Bryce Dallas Howard and Anjelica Huston

Adam: I can’t remember being so calm in a long time.

Katie: Would you describe it as numbness?

Adam: No, I would describe it as fine.

Up and coming director, Jonathan Levine’s latest film, 50/50, is being billed as a cancer comedy, only I cried about five times so I’m not sure the descriptor really fits. 50/50 is writer, Will Reiser’s first hand account of what it was like to get cancer in his 20’s. Clearly, as he is still here to tell the tale, he lives through the ordeal, but knowing this does not take away from the personal journey he shares with us. And fortunately for all involved, that journey is being taken on screen by the always impressive, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who easily makes 50/50 a sure bet.

Gordon-Levitt plays Adam, whom we first meet jogging down the streets of Seattle at dawn. Instantly, while we watch him wait at a red light to cross an intersection despite any trace of traffic approaching, we know that Adam is cautious and self-aware. Even when he is told that he has cancer, he protests on the basis that he doesn’t smoke or drink and that he recycles. Adam follows the rules and yet is being inexplicably punished. Adam is not particularly original, as far as characters go, but his emotional path leaves the character so exposed and vulnerable that we are deeply endeared to him. Commendably, Reiser does not make us pity him but instead it feels like a rare and  honest account of his experience. For Gordon-Levitt to be able to open himself up to this kind of candidness only further proves that he is one of the most relatable young actors working today.

I felt I could know Adam, that he could be one of my friends. That one of my friends could go through this is foreign to me and fortunately, not something I’ve ever had to go through. As much as 50/50 is about Adam’s plight, the other half of it is about how the people around him learn to support him. From his best friend (Seth Rogen, playing a role based on himself, as he is also Reiser’s best friend in real life) to his mother (Anjelica Huston, making the most of her little screen time) to love interests both potential (Anna Kendrick) and exiting (Bryce Dallas Howard), everyone in his life stumbles through supporting him as if they were blindly walking into walls. Everyone is trying though, reminding us just how important intention really is, and 50/50 surely has the best of them.

TIFF Review: MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE

Written and Directed by Sean Durkin

Starring Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, Hugh Dancy and John Hawkes

Martha: Do you ever have that feeling where you can’t tell if something’s a memory or if it’s something you dreamed?

 Instantly uncomfortable, MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, is unlike any experience I’ve had at the movies. It is at times both eerily quiet and dishearteningly noisy; it is painfully present but yet also lost in a haze of what is real and what is imagined. It inspires great sympathy and even greater anxiety. Its tension is palpable and its style is distinct and effective. MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE is a truly accomplished piece of filmmaking from writer-director, Sean Durkin, a first time feature filmmaker. With that in mind, it is just plain shocking across the board.

As skillful as Durkin proves to be, he has help, led by a star-making turn from lead actress, Elizabeth Olsen. Olsen, who incidentally is the younger sibling of Mary-Kate and Ashley (and I’m sure never tires of seeing that repeated in print), is incredible as Martha. We meet her when she is Marcy May, her name changed when she entered a seemingly loving commune. Her new family turns out to be an abusive cult, led by recent Oscar nominee, John Hawkes (WINTER’S BONE), but the warmth they show her is still enough for her to leave behind the family she had always known. Olsen carries so much depth in her composure, her face and general demeanor are cold and lifeless. Still, there is fight inside her that breaks through the surface from time to time, hoping to make its presence more permanent. Olsen makes Martha’s struggle so grave, you feel as though she could slip away from everything at any moment, never to return. She is simply captivating and I could barely breathe as I watched her push back from hell.

Durkin takes this towering performance and drops it in the middle of a world of bewilderment, bouncing back and forth in time and place between Marcy May’s time with her adopted “family” and Martha’s attempt to reintegrate into society with her sister (Sarah Paulson) and her husband (Hugh Dancy). At times, many of them in fact, she cannot distinguish between the two experiences and subsequently, neither can we. Her transition is never simple and both situations place rules on her that she struggles against, leaving it open for debate as to which scenario provides her with real love, if any. MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE is as disturbing as you would expect from what I’ve described but it is also just as revelatory.

TIFF Review: TAKE THIS WALTZ

Written and Directed by Sarah Polley

Starring Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby and Sarah Silverman

 Geraldine: Life has a big gap in it. You don’t try to fill it like a f#@king lunatic.

Canadian darling, Sarah Polley’s latest directorial effort begins with such great promise. The enigmatic, Michelle Williams, with her round face and gentle demeanor, comes in and out of focus in a quaint Toronto kitchen. The sun beams in and all you can hear is the clicking of the fan rotating in the corner and a soft folk song filling the soundtrack. It’s one of those perfect mornings; her muffins are rising slowly and the whole day awaits her. As she sinks to the floor by the oven and a man’s legs brush past her, the tone is set for a truly great film. Unfortunately, it is at this point that mouths are opened, awkwardness and discomfort come out of them and TAKE THIS WALTZ begins to step all over its own feet.

Williams plays Margot, a 29-year-old writer living in Toronto. She has been married to Lou (Seth Rogen, who continues to grow and show more depth as an actor) for six years now. The two clearly love each other but their relationship has never matured from its youthful beginnings. As a result, they resort to cutesy baby talk and childish games where they each come up with creative ways to kill the other person whenever there is potential for intimacy between them. Neither one seems to notice their relationship is stinted until Margot meets a man on Prince Edward Island, of all places, while on assignment. Daniel (the charming Luke Kirby) not only ends up sitting next to her on the plane, where Margot has the chance to spill some fairly overwrought dialogue about how she fears missing connections at airports and maybe really fears fear itself, but as it turns out, Daniel also happens to live a few doors over from her in Toronto as well. It’s crazy how life can line up like that, I mean, especially when it is being written that way.

Margot’s heart becomes torn between the love she’s known for years and the possibilities presented by something new, something potentially more adult. Ordinarily, I am drawn into every emotion Williams gives us but in TAKE THIS WALTZ, I just wanted to cut in, grab her by the shoulders and shake her. Margot is an unhappy sap, who sees her marriage to a supportive man as a true burden and who portends that the path she has taken holds her back without admitting it was of her own making or doing a single thing to change it. To watch her debate the greener grass across the street from her is an exercise in great patience as she comes off as unappreciative, immature and unaware. Granted, yes, people just like Margot exist in real life but the sympathy with which Polley demands for Margot is too much to ask and Margot never does one thing to deserve it. As far as I’m concerned, Polley can have her waltz back because I don’t want it.

TIFF Review: SHAME

Written by Abi Morgan and Steve McQueen

Directed by Steve McQueen

Starring Michael Fassbaender and Carey Mulligan

Brandon: Some people fuck up all the time.

Steve McQueen’s sophomore film, SHAME, begins with his returning star, Michael Fassbender, lying in bed, staring at the ceiling or into some far off space. He doesn’t move; he just lies there half covered by the blankets for some time. Something in his eyes suggests he can’t move just yet. He is trapped in those precious morning moments, where you become aware again of everything sleep managed to erase temporarily the night before. To get up, means having to face it all again and once you see what it is this particular man is trying to avoid, it becomes pretty obvious pretty quickly why he would rather stay in bed.

Fassbender, who owes a great deal of his notoriety to McQueen after the two worked together on  McQueen’s first feature, the brilliant HUNGER, plays Brandon, a New Yorker with a fancy job and an even fancier apartment. He presents perfectly in every fashion but he is hiding a secret, one so big that it could threaten everything he has in his life. Brandon is a sex addict. Some scoff at the whole idea that someone can actually be addicted to sex, as if it is some sort of made up excuse people use to get off the hook for indiscretions. The way McQueen writes the affliction though, it becomes painfully obvious that sex addiction is in fact very real and likely pretty rampant. I wouldn’t call it a disease but it is certainly a learned behaviour that triggers the same pleasure and comfort responses in the brain that any addiction would. Brandon needs sex in his life and he gets more than a little antsy when he doesn’t get his fix.

SHAME does not judge nor does it invite us to judge Brandon. That said, we are not asked to sympathize either. We are simply given the opportunity to observe a man in some of his weaker, more vulnerable moments. Brandon is able to manage his needs fairly well when he has routine in his life but when his sister (Carey Mulligan) comes to stay with him, he is no longer able to keep his habits in the closet. Subsequently, we are witness to them all, in all their naked and sordid glory - this is a movie about sex addiction, after all; you should expect a fair amount of sex. Fassbender is brilliant and fearless as Brandon. As he processes what he’s doing and how it is affecting those around him and his self, Fassbender carries this weight in his entire body. (And I do mean, his entire body.) With SHAME, McQueen and Fassbender prove they aren’t afraid of anything and that HUNGER wasn’t a fluke. The only real shame would be if no one saw this film.

TIFF Review: MELANCHOLIA

Written and Directed by Lars von Trier

Starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Keifer Sutherland and Alexander Skarsgard

Justine: The Earth is evil. We don’t need to grieve for it. Nobody will miss it.

Leave it to one of the world’s most infamously melancholic directors, Lars von Trier, to open a film with Earth as we know it coming to an abrupt demise. Dead birds drop from the sky, roots come out from the ground and people sink into the dirt beneath their feet. As disturbing and dark as this grandiose overture is, it is also incredibly beautiful to behold and thus defines the paradox that is Lars von Trier. He gives us nothing but sadness but sees everything, on film anyway, for all its incredible magnificence.

MELANCHOLIA, which von Trier also wrote, tells the story of how a planet of the same name crashes into Earth and destroys mankind. It then rewinds a little to take a closer look at two sisters in the days leading up to the end of the world. First, we get to know Justine (Kirsten Dunst). It is her wedding day, which we all know should be the happiest of her life, but happiness is a constant struggle for Justine. As it becomes clear to her that the end is coming, she becomes less interested in pretending she is in good sorts. Her sister, Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), lives a good life with her rich husband (Keifer Sutherland) and passes her time by fussing over details. She is the rock of her family and likely just as depressed as her sister, but incapable of letting that show. As they band together to brave the end, they do great justice to the many faces of misery.

Von Trier, who has dealt with depression for most of his life, not only explores the harsh lows of the disease in MELANCHOLIA, but also its lighter side and, more importantly, its futility. Is fighting against the inevitable the best course of action? Or is it better to just give in to your despair and give up all hope for happiness? Von Trier does not pretend to put forth an answer because there is no one answer that matters. The world will end and every single emotion or thought we’ve ever had will cease to exist. Von Trier seems to understand that this is not damnation but rather liberation - that only when we accept that life is meaningless can we truly be free to create the life we want. That’s pretty optimistic coming from a world renowned downer.

TIFF Review: DRIVE

Written by Hossein Amini

Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

Starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks and Albert Brooks

Irene: What do you do?

Driver: I drive.

Every now and again, a movie comes along and takes you for a ride you don’t soon forget. It straps you in with its fresh cinematic voice and doesn’t let you go until it has raced through your mind, taken some crazy turns and pulled back into the garage again.  When you step out, your legs might even feel a little weak from the constant barrage of thrills and brilliance. DRIVE is that movie. This year’s breakout director, and the winner of the Best Director prize at Cannes, Nicolas Winding Refn, delivers a smooth ride that will catch you off guard at almost every turn and announces the arrival of a new force to be reckoned with on the road.

While Refn may be the man behind the wheel off-screen, the man in the driver’s seat on screen is none other than Ryan Gosling. Known only throughout the film as the driver, Gosling exudes an eerie calm no matter how fast his life is moving. There are cars everywhere he turns. He works for a mechanic (Bryan Cranston) and drives stunt cars for the movies. He even moonlights as a getaway car driver for petty robberies and might soon start actually racing his own ride on an actual track. Gosling’s driver needs to be in that seat and subsequently in control of his own destiny. He lives a modest life and never gives anything away on his face, that is until he meets his neighbour, Irene (the always understated, Carey Mulligan). Once their hands touch, on the stick shift of his car no less, his engine starts making noises he’s never heard before.

DRIVE is an intense trip and once Refn kicks it into high gear, you can practically feel the rev of the engine emanating from the screen and reverberating through your entire core. It embodies a modern sense of extreme cool, from its pounding soundtrack to its excellent cast (including a deliciously funny, Albert Brooks and a just plain delicious, Christina Hendricks). DRIVE is a rebellious film, a night creature, a total badass of a movie. When it gets rough, it goes places I’ve never even imagined, let alone seen on film. And even though Refn pushes the movie into skids of reckless abandon, he is always clearly and confidently in control of the vehicle. By the time DRIVE screeches to a complete halt, you will instantly want to take it for another spin.

TIFF Review: THE IDES OF MARCH

Written by George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon

Directed by George Clooney

Starring Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman 

and Evan Rachel Wood

Stephen Myers: Nothing bad happens when you’re doing the right thing.

Governor Mike Morris: Is that your personal theory because I can poke holes in it.

George Clooney has been mulling making THE IDES OF MARCH for a few years now. When he first wanted to make it in 2008, he decided to put his plans on hold because of the political climate. The United States were on the cusp of a monumental election and a financial crisis and he did not want to take advantage of either. Three years later though, Clooney and his longtime production partner, Grant Heslov (GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK) think the timing is now right to unveil their political thriller to the voting public. Apparently, it is acceptable to be critical of their government again.

Clooney plays Governor Mike Morris, a seemingly genuine and upstanding gentleman, who is trying to secure the democratic party nomination for the upcoming presidential race. Naturally, nothing is as it seems and it would appear that no one can get to such great heights without stepping over a few people along the way. To get where he is, you also need a crack team behind you and Governor Morris’ includes actors as diverse and talented as Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Evan Rachel Wood. Hoffman is the veteran, Wood is the intern and Gosling is the shiny new guy who is clearly on his way to greater things. In fact, Gosling’s career appears to mirror the position of his character, Stephen Myers. The man is certainly on his own streak and his lead performance here is another that will certainly continue to propel him forward.

THE IDES OF MARCH is a compelling and engaging thriller, despite not bringing much new to the table. Gosling’s Stephen gets caught up in the political crossfire behind the campaign scenes and it becomes a pretty harrowing challenge for him to ensure he still comes out ahead of everyone else. And while Clooney’s execution is smooth and effective, it does cater a little too often to his own political views. Clooney did not want his character to be a republican as he thought the criticism would be too obvious. As a democrat though, he gets the chance to voice all of his platforms on topics as heated as gay marriage and tax incentives for the super rich. Everything he says seems so sensible, the film becomes something of a criticism for all politicians, as if to suggest it could be as easy as he claims if they would just get it together. And while Clooney may not be ready to run for president, he earns my vote for being a top notch film director.

TIFF Review: THE ARTIST

Written and Directed by Michel Hazanavicius

Starring Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman and James Cromwell

George Valentin (on a title card): I won’t talk. I won’t say a word!

Some critics would be hard pressed to find genuine artistry in the film industry today, but they needn’t look any further than THE ARTIST, French director, Michel Hazanavicius’s homage to another era. It is a fine celebration of the cinema and the art involved in making the movies feel magical. True to the period in which it is set (Hollywood, 1927), the film is black and white, shot in the more box-y 1.33:1 aspect ratio and, perhaps most notably, the film is silent. Somehow though, without a single word uttered throughout, THE ARTIST keeps you hanging on every frame.

George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), the artist in THE ARTIST, believes the introduction of sound into film to be a gimmick, a passing fad. You and I both know how very wrong he was but he held true to the cinema’s authentic and humble origins. His refusal to grow and change with the times finds him falling out of favour with his studio and subsequently continuing to fall, only this time on hard times. Meanwhile, the woman he is in love with, actress Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo, Hazanavicius’s wife) is being swept up in the emerging success of the “talkies”. Valentin must essentially adapt or die; he must find his voice again in order to finally be heard by his public and the woman he loves. As simple as the plot is, it is its refined execution that makes the whole exercise seem effortless, allowing nothing but great warmth and passion to emanate from the screen.

It’s funny how we take things like dialogue for granted and it’s hard to believe that the movies really were like this at one point in time. As demonstrated in the film’s opening sequence, elegant theatres would be filled to capacity with patrons decked out in their finest wares, anxiously awaiting the latest screen adventures of their favorite Hollywood stars. An orchestra would not only fill the room with music but it would also fill the silence between the actors on the screen. Emotion and intention needed to be clearly communicated without speaking in order for the film to be successful. And while it may at times come off as exaggerated or false, the point was usually made. By honouring the silent film and doing it such great justice, THE ARTIST almost renders the usage of words completely pointless.

CONTAGION

Written by Scott Z. Burns

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Starring Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Lawrence Fishburn, Jude Law, 

Marion Cotillard and Gwyneth Paltrow

Dr. Ian Sussman: Blogging is not writing. It's graffiti with punctuation.

I’m not sure I can in good conscious recommend CONTAGION to anyone at all. It’s not that it’s a bad film; it’s just that seeing it has potentially damaging consequences on your psyche. About ten minutes into watching it, you might become hyper aware of your surroundings. Coughing noises will become amplified while your armrest might suddenly feel stickier than it did when you first sat down. In fact, by the time you’ve gotten home from seeing it - after touching door handles, staircase railings and, god forbid, other people - you may never want to leave the house again.

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, CONTAGION stars many an Oscar winner, from Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow to Marion Cotillard and Kate Winslet. For all it’s familiarity though, it presents like a faceless production to demonstrate just how feasible this scenario really is. There is no real character development - there is no time for that - just different people reacting to a common foe. The enemy here is a new disease named MEV-1. It is considered novel because humanity has never seen it before and Soderbergh paints what he believes to be a very real picture of how the planet would handle something like this. As you can imagine, we don’t do very well.

CONTAGION is not as infectious as it could be. With so many plots in the air, some are almost forgotten and Soderbergh is none too subtle about how lackadaisical we all are with everything we touch. Still, with this much talent on screen and Soderbergh’s brilliant eye, CONTAGION remains a tense thriller with plenty of casualties and horrifying moments. Perhaps the most dire thing about it though is the hard reality that even in our darkest hour, humanity still exudes selfishness and greed, leaving every man to fend for himself. Sure, it’s a theory but it’s a plausible one and really just another argument to stay indoors.

Black Sheep previews TIFF 2011

This will only be my second year covering the Toronto International Film Festival, in any official capacity that is. Last year, I had no idea what to expect from TIFF, as it is more affectionately known. I wanted to hit the festival running but TIFF just ended up running me ragged instead. If I wasn't sprinting from one venue to the next to catch another screening, I was rushing to an interview or trying to squeeze in some of the mounting writing that was waiting for me at home. I wasn't eating or sleeping properly and the moment I thought I had two minutes to breathe, my body shut down and I suffered through the last stretch of the festival with a massive head cold. Despite all of this, it was still one of the best times of my entire life.

A reader took this shot at the TIFF Box Office and sent it to me.

It may be naive to suggest but I am determined that this year is going to be even better. This year I will be sure to take my vitamins daily and to buy a subway pass so that I don't have to show up to interview filmmakers I admire with sweat dripping down my brow. I will also be stepping up my film intake as well. I devoured 30 films last September and this year I hope to hit 40. Having caught a bunch of films in pre-TIFF press screenings, I am already nicely on track to accomplish this. I'm also in a pretty good position to make some last minute recommendations for anyone looking to scour craigslist for exorbitantly overpriced tickets.

Keeping in mind that I've only seen 10 films so far, here are a few I don't think you should miss ...

THE ARTIST

Directed by Michel Hazanavicius

This much buzzed about silent film is my early prediction for the Cadillac People's Choice Award, an honour based solely on festival goer votes. It is charming and simple but its execution is an intricate design that will surely wow both audiences and critics, just as it did earlier this year at Cannes.

DRIVE

Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

Refn took the directing honours at Cannes for this fact paced, ultra violent thriller. This is none too surprising considering how smooth the ride really is; it swerves through its seedy premise just as easily as it does the streets of Los Angeles. And with Ryan Gosling at the wheel, Refn can take me anywhere he likes.

THE IDES OF MARCH

Directed by George Clooney

And if you didn't get enough Gosling after that, you can catch him in the starring role in Clooney's first directorial effort in three years. To be honest, I cannot decide which movie I prefer him in; his abilities are becoming more and more remarkable with each passing year it seems and Clooney more than redeems himself for his last film, LEATHERHEADS, too.

MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE

Directed by Sean Durkin

This was my first TIFF11 film of the year and it has set the bar pretty high for everything I've seen since. Durkin's first feature made an indelible impression on Sundance audiences earlier this year and while that was surely in no small part due to his disturbing screenplay and direction, it is the breakout performance by newcomer, Elizabeth Olsen, that everyone will be talking about come awards season.

MELANCHOLIA

Directed by Lars von Trier

I would not have believed you if you had told me that one of my favourite movies of 2011 would be by the notorious Lars von Trier. While the director will not be in attendance at TIFF (he does not fly and lives in Denmark), his presence will surely be felt by anyone who sees his latest. I have never seen such a darkly humorous take on the apocalypse, nor one that is as unforgettable as this one.

Score tickets to any of those films and you will not be disappointed, I assure you.

Here now is the full list of films I hope to catch during the 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival.

50/50

Directed by Jonathan Levine

THE ARTIST

Directed by Michel Hazanavicius

A DANGEROUS METHOD

Directed by David Cronenberg

A MONSTER IN PARIS

Directed by Bibo Bergeron

ALBERT NOBBS

Directed by Roberto Garcia

ANONYMOUS

Directed by Roland Emmerich

BURNING MAN

Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky

BUTTER

Directed by Jim Field Smith

Quebecois director, Jean-Marc Vallee returns to TIFF with CAFE DE FLORE

CAFE DE FLORE

Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee

CHICKEN WITH PLUMS

Directed by Marjane Sartrapi and Vincent Paronnaud

COMIC-CON: EPISODE IV - A FAN'S HOPE

Directed by Morgan Spurlock

CORIOLANUS

Directed by Ralph Fiennes

DAMSELS IN DISTRESS

Directed by Whit Stillman

DEATH OF A SUPERHERO

Directed by Ian Fitzgibbon

THE DESCENDANTS

Directed by Alexander Payne

DRIVE

Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

FRIENDS WITH KIDS

Directed by Jennifer Westfeldt

TIFF opens with this Davis Guggenheim directed documentary about U2

FROM THE SKY DOWN

Directed by Davis Guggenheim

THE IDES OF MARCH

Directed by George Clooney

INTO THE ABYSS

Directed by Werner Herzog

JEFF WHO LIVES AT HOME

Directed by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass

KEYHOLE

Directed by Guy Maddin

THE KID WITH THE BIKE

Directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

THE LADY

Directed by Luc Besson

LAST CALL AT THE OASIS

Directed by Jennifer Yu

LIKE CRAZY

Directed by Drake Doremus

MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE

Directed by Sean Durkin

MELANCHOLIA

Directed by Lars von Trier

MISS BALA

Directed by Gerardo Naranjo

MONEYBALL

Directed by Bennett Miller

TIFF then closes the festival with PAGE EIGHT, from Oscar nominated screenwriter, David Hare.

PAGE EIGHT

Directed by David Hare

PEACE LOVE AND MISUNDERSTANDING

Directed by Bruce Beresford

PINA

Directed by Wim Wenders

RAMPART

Directed by Oren Moverman

SHAME

Directed by Steve McQueen

THE SKIN I LIVE IN

Directed by Pedro Almodovar

SLEEPING BEAUTY

Directed by Julia Leigh

TAKE SHELTER

Directed by Jeff Nichols

Seth Rogen and Michelle Williams try not to step on each other's feet in Sarah Polley's TAKE THIS WALTZ.

TAKE THIS WALTZ

Directed by Sarah Polley

THINK OF ME

Directed by Bryan Wizemann

TWIXT

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

TYRANNOSAUR

Directed by Paddy Considine

W.E.

Directed by Madonna

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

Directed by Lynne Ramsay

WINNIE

Directed by Darrel Roodt

The Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8 until September 19.

For more information, visit the TIFF website.