OKAY WRAPPING UP TIFF NOW. Unless you are on an actual jury at a festival, you see a different set of films than everyone else attending (with a handful of crossovers) so I couldn't corral votes with my festival roomies (Nick, Joe, and Chris -- instead we did a podcast). So I thought it might be fun to share my favorites from the festival in 'nominee' Oscar style. These are not, of course, Oscar predictions or even Film Bitch ballots because not all of the films are guaranteed eligibility this year and we've had 8 months of good movies before these and we'll have 3 months of hopefully good movies afterwards that they'll have to compete with. But here's the achievements within traditional awards categories that thrilled me most at TIFF during that 29 film screening marathon.
They're listed in alpha order (by film) except the actors (by name) and links go to our festival reviews if we managed one -- a few more reviews are half written but we need to wrap up TIFF so expect more on A Star is Born, Beautiful Boy, Border, and more soon as they'll be in theaters within the next few weeks.
TEN BEST FILMS I SAW AT TIFF
"Roma" is rich with endless details and emotional punch
- Border (Sweden)
- First Man (US)
- Museo (Mexico)
- The River (Kazakshtan)
- Roma (Mexico)
- A Star is Born (US)
- Transit (Germany)
- Widows (US)
- Wildlife (US)
- Woman at War (Iceland)
Runners up: Cold War (Poland)
Lots more after the jump including best performances, best visuals, best dogs (yes, really), best original songs and more...
BEST DIRECTOR
Bradley Cooper not only proves great behind the camera he directs his own best performance!
- First Man - Damien Chazelle
- Roma - Alfonso Cuarón
- A Star is Born - Bradley Cooper
- Widows - Steve McQueen
- Woman at War - Benedikt Erlingsson
Runner up: Museo - Alonso Ruiz Palacios
BEST ACTRESS
Maggie Gyllenhaal, complex as usual in "The Kindergarten Teacher"
- Viola Davis as "Veronica Rawlings," an underestimated woman, in Widows
- Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir as "Halla/Asa," an activist, in Woman at War
- Maggie Gyllenhaal as "Mrs. Spinelli," a teacher/poetry fanatic, in The Kindergarten Teacher
- Nicole Kidman as "Detective Erin Bell," a haunted wreck, in Destroyer
- Carey Mulligan as "Jeanette Brinson," an abandoned wife, in Wildlife
I'm still trying to decide if Natalie Portman was great or terrible in Vox Lux. It's one or the other. And a close call. And Yalitza Aparicio is a beautiful vessel in Roma but Alfonso Cuarón steals every scene if you know what I mean; it's a directorial feat through and through.
BEST ACTOR
Chalamet's performance is the only reason to see "Beautiful Boy"
- Timothée Chalamet as "Nick Sheff," an eldest son and drug addict, in Beautiful Boy
- Bradley Cooper as "Jackson Maine," an alcoholic rock star, in A Star is Born
- Chao Deng as "Commander/Jing," a military hero and his imposter in Shadow
- Ryan Gosling as "Neil Armstrong," a brave astronaut, in First Man
- Victor Polser as "Lara," a determined ballerina, in Girl
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Nicole and Russell are great together in "Boy Erased"
- Graciela Borges as "Esmeralda," a wealthy judgemental matriarch, in The Quietude
- Elizabeth Debicki as "Alice," a reluctant call girl, in Widows
- Claire Foy as "Janet Armstrong," a formidable wife, in First Man
- Nicole Kidman as "Nancy Eammons," a religious mother, in Boy Erased
- Regina King as "Sharon Rivers," a concerned mother, in If Beale Street Could Talk
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Victor Polser and Arieh Worthalter as daughter and father in Belgium's Oscar entry "Girl"
- Russell Crowe as "Marshall Eammons," a preacher, in Boy Erased
- Colman Domingo as "Joseph Rivers," a resourceful father, in If Beale Street Could Talk
- Sam Elliott as "Bobby," a rock star's brother/handler, in A Star is Born
- Jake Gyllenhaal as "Jerry Brinson," a prideful ex husband, in Wildlife
- Arieh Worthalter as "Mathias," a supportive father, in Girl
Runner up: Rupert Penry-Jones as "Sir Harold Nicholson," a queer diplomat, in Vita & Virginia
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
young lovers in Fig Tree
- Cold War
- Fig Tree
- Museo
- Roma
- Woman at War
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Lovers in a cafe in "Transit"
- Border
- The Kindergarten Teacher
- A Star is Born
- Transit
- Wildlife
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Cold War - Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
- First Man - Linus Sandgren
- If Beale Street Could Talk - James Laxton
- Roma - Alfonso Cuarón
- A Star is Born - Matthew Libatique
(Honestly I would not be surprised if these five are the exact Oscar list come January - extremely formidable cinematography contenders in films the guilds will probably like)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
- First Man- Mary Zophres
- If Beale Street Could Talk - Caroline Eselin
- Shadow - unknown
- Vita and Virginia - Lorna Marie Mugan
- Wildlife- Amanda Ford
Runner up: Cold War - Ola Staszko
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
quite possibly my favorite scene in Cold War
- Cold War - Marcel Slawinski and Katarzyna Sobanska Strzalkowska
- First Man - Nathan Crowley
- If Beale Street Could Talk - Mark Friedberg
- Roma - Eugenio Caballero
- Shadow - Horace Ma
BEST FILM EDITING
the museum heist in "Museo" is an A+ sequence
- Cold War - Jaroslaw Kaminski
- First Man - Tom Cross
- Museo - Yibran Asuad
- A Star is Born - Jay Cassidy
- Widows - Joe Walker
Runner up: Woman at War -David Alexander Corno
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR
Sweden's Oscar submission "Border" has Oscar-worthy makeup effects
- Border
- Destroyer
- A Star is Born
BEST SCORE
- First Man - Justin Hurwitz
- Destroyer - Theodore Shapiro
- If Beale Street Could Talk - Nicholas Britell
- Shadow - Zai Lao
- Woman at War - Davíð Þór Jónsson
BEST SOUND MIXING
- Cold War First Man
- Roma
- A Star is Born
- Woman at War
BEST SOUND EDITING
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
- "Always Remember Us This Way" - A Star is Born (Lady Gaga)
- "I'll Never Love Again" - A Star is Born (Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga)
- "Look What I Found" - A Star is Born (Lady Gaga)
- "Maybe It's Time" - A Star is Born (Bradley Cooper)
- "Shallow" - A Star is Born (Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga)
I'm a little obsessed, what can I say? I wish the Oscar rules didn't prohibit more than 2 song nominees from a single film because one suspects that all the other contenders will pale in comparison. Certainly the songs in "Vox Lux" pale (and I love Sia so I'm not just being a Star is Born 'stan).
AND FOR FUN...
Since I know you love the Film Bitch Awards here are a handful more 'extra' honors from the TIFF films screened for kicks.
BEST LIMITED OR CAMEO PERFORMANCE, MALE
- Simon Russell Beale, a fine art dealer, in Museo
- Brian Tyree Henry, an ex con and old friend, in If Beale Street Could Talk
- Jon Michael Hill, an opportunistic reverend, in Widows
- Bradley Whitford, a sleazy lawyer, in Destroyer
BEST LIMITED OR CAMEO PERFORMANCE, FEMALE
- Jeanne Balibar, a poet, in Cold War
- Leticia Brédice, an exotic dancer, in Museo
- unknown, a 'travel agent' of sorts, in Fig Tree
BEST OPENING SCENE
- Border (sniffing out alcohol)
- First Man (a test flight)
- Museo (statue relocated)
- Vita & Virginia (a 'modern marriage')
- Woman at War (powerlines)
BEST ENDING
- Cold War
- First Man
- The Kindergarten Teacher
- A Star is Born
- Wildlife
BEST KISS
- Destroyer (Nicole Kidman & Sebastian Stan)
- If Beale Street Could Talk (Kiki Layne & Stephan James)
- Tell it to the Bees (Anna Paquin & Holiday Grainger)
- Transit (Franz Rogowski & Paula Beer)
- Widows (Viola Davis & Liam Neeson)
BEST SEX SCENE
- Border (Eva Melender & Eero Milonoff)
- If Beale Street Could Talk (Kiki Layne & Stephan James)
- The Quietude (Edgar Ramirez & Martina Gusman)
- Shadow (Chao Deng & Li Sun)
- Widows (Elizabeth Debicki & Lukas Haas)
BEST DOG
There were so many good boys onscreen adding so much to their movies we had to recognize them
- "Borass," high jumping family dog with FOMO issues - Roma
- "Charley," beloved muppet-like child of rock stars - A Star is Born
- "???," dog who wasn't invited to Christmas - That Time of Year
- "???" pampered toy dog of Veronica (I forget her name but Viola does say it in the movie. The dog steals two totally key scenes!) - Widows
- "Woman," a well trained farm dog and accomplice- Woman at War