Baby Clyde's TIFF Diary #2: "The Woman King", Oprah, and "Sidney"

by Baby Clyde

You think I’m just here enjoying myself, don’t you? You think it’s all World Premieres and swanky parties, hobnobbing with the stars and swilling champagne. Unfortunately, that is not quite the case. My trip so far has been somewhat more mundane. Saturday, I had 5 films to see but spent most of my time visiting various electrical shops trying to find a US/UK travel adapter (I idiotically left the half dozen I own back in London). Instead of sipping Mimosas over a leisurely breakfast I was in Best Buy at 10am perusing plug sockets. At time of speaking, I still haven’t found one. I didn’t eat anything until 6.30pm. I’m now home and hastily throwing together this dispatch before my laptop dies. I’ve got about 20 minutes. Here goes.

First film of the day was a particular treat for this Brit after all who needs a Queen when we have The Woman King...

Viola Davis hacking terrible men to pieces at 11am is exactly what I needed to start the weekend. It’s a fabulous follow up from Gina Prince-Blythewood to 2020’s hugely enjoyable The Old Guard. Just imagine her career trajectory over the last 20 years if she had been a basic white man.

Next up was Allelujah a tonally muddled adaptation of the Alan Bennet play by director Richard Eyre. Even a cast of such estimable pros as Jennifer Saunders, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Derek Jacob, David Bradley and the great, underutilised Julia Mackenzie couldn’t breathe life into an almost plotless script that is mostly just set ups for Bennett’s witty punchlines. The third act's wild shift from gentle comedy to something much weirder and darker fails miserably even if the final polemic is powerful.

ALLELUJAH

I then want straight into The Lost King from the same team of Stephen Frears and Steve Coogan that brought us Philomena. The story of amateur historian Phillipa Langley’s (Sally Hawkins) attempts to find the lost remains of King Richard III was a big news story a decade ago and is here rendered in exactly the cosy, British way you would expect it to be... exactly the cosy British way you would want it  to be!  Could have done without the very literal depiction of King Richard himself. Hawkins is as wonderful as always.

I skipped my 4th film of the day (Sorry Winter Boy) as by this time I was flagging. I realised I had not yet eaten, so fast food it was before I headed home to get changed into something slightly more presentable for the big film of the evening. The premier of Sidney at the swanky Roy Thompson Hall.

It won’t surprise you to hear that it’s an entirely by-the-numbers talking head doc that has all the pedigree, footage, and contributors but rarely rises to the level of its remarkable subject matter. You don’t find out much more than you probably already know about the legendary movie star and activist. Still, there's an A List cast all paying tribute, fantastic archive material, and numerous interviews with the man himself so it's delightful. British singing legend Lulu steals the show with an impromptu, acapella rendition of her mega hit To Sir With Love. 

According to my Fitbit, by the time I got home I’d done 22,665 steps and not had a single cocktail. Clearly, I’m failing at this.

Film of The Day: Easily The Woman King a fantastic historical action drama the likes of which you’ve never seen before. Viola reigns supreme. 

Oscar Buzz: I had high hopes for Allelujah but it’s pretty bad. The Lost King may be too lowkey and familiar to gain much traction. The Woman King feels like a box office attraction rather than a definitive awards player, although expect plenty of craft support and you can't ever count out Ms Davis. The most obvious Oscar contender of the lot is the Apple and Oprah backed Sidney. There is no way a doc with this subject matter wasn’t made explicitly to garner Academy support but that will depend on it making it onto the notoriously snooty Doc Branch’s shortlist. If it makes the cut, it won’t be the best doc of the year, but it’ll undoubtedly be the one with the most good will.

Star Spot: I may have previously slightly downplayed the eventfulness of my day. I did see director Stephen Frears in the street earlier (Much smaller than I’d imagined) but  it was the evening that really delivered. There was lots of talk in the foyer before Sidney started as to whether Oprah would be in attendance. I’d planned for this eventuality since this wasn’t my first time at the rodeo. I knew exactly where the VIP sit at Roy Thompson Hall and chose my seat accordingly. You see The Color Purple is my mum’s favourite film and she never would have forgiven me if I didn’t return with the best photograph possible. Once I saw Gayle King sit down in the section next to mine, I knew I’d made the right decision. Oprah arrived on stage resplendent in a dazzling silver to introduce the film and then retired to her seat as the film started. She was about 10 seats away from me. (My mum was very happy)

Comments

[DK]

One of the things I struggle with re: Viola Davis is that she’s so serious, so self-serious I would venture to say, that she rarely “entertains” in the sense that her work brings any joy, delight, amusement to the audience. I know she’s not a comedian but the heaviness and dourness of her work is really hard to take over and over again, after we’ve seen so much of it from her. Really good actors (Meryl, her professed hero, is a great example) are capable of finding the comic/absurd/offbeat moments in tragedy but Viola plays everything SO straight. She could make “My Favorite Things” sound like a dirge.

For that reason “Viola shows off her range” feels like the wrong logline for this movie…it looks like more of the same humorless ACTING.