Abe’s ‘Jury of One’ from TIFF 2022

Brendan Fraser in The Whale

By Abe Friedtanzer 

I had always heard from other journalists at festivals like Sundance and SXSW that TIFF was the best one. I’m thrilled that I had the chance to attend my first in-person edition after covering remotely last year. I’m certainly exhausted – I saw 37 films at screenings and another six at home. Fortunately, almost all of what I saw was very good, and even better for you readers, the overwhelming majority is also slated for release. Of course, the crazy thing about these festivals is that, no matter how much you see, you’ll still somehow not get what others think was best (Baby Clyde’s top two films are among the six from his 25 that I didn’t see). But there’s plenty to celebrate, and without further ado, here are my ‘jury of one’ awards with release dates, if applicable, in parentheses, and some personal prizes…

The Swimmers 

Top Ten Films 

1. The Whale (Dec 9^th, theaters)
2. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Dec 23^rd, Netflix)
3. Women Talking (Dec 2^nd, theaters)
4. The Swimmers (Nov 23^rd, Netflix)
5. Hunt (Dec, theaters)
6. Muru
7. The Fabelmans (Nov 11^th, theaters)
8. Good Night Oppy (Nov 23^rd, Prime Video)
9. Sanctuary
10. All Quiet On The Western Front (Oct 28^th, Netflix)

Germany's Oscar entry All Quiet on the Western Front 

Best Director: Lee Jung-jae (Hunt) 

Best Actor: Brendan Fraser (The Whale) 

Best Actress: Adelaide Clemens (The Swearing Jar)

Best Supporting Actor: Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway)

Best Supporting Actress: Sadie Sink (The Whale)

Best Screenplay: Women Talking 

Best Cinematography: Empire of Light

Best Ensemble Cast: Women Talking

South Korea's Oscar entry Decision to Leave

In terms of Oscar prospects, I got to see the German, Austrian, and South Korean submissions for Best International Film – All Quiet on the Western Front, Corsage, and Decision to Leave – plus two of the five finalists from France (One Fine Morning and Saint Omer) and one from Israel that, as of this past weekend, won’t be representing its country after losing the Ophir (Valeria is Getting Married). I was also excited to learn that Muru, one of my top ten, was selected to represent New Zealand a few days ago, though there’s a good deal of English spoken so I fear it will be disqualified. From all those, I think All Quiet is the likeliest to earn a nomination, though Decision to Leave could too.

Cliff Curtis in New Zealand's Oscar entry Muru

From the rest, it’s clear that The Fabelmans will be a major Oscar player, and I sincerely hope that both The Whale and Women Talking are too. Those two films, from directors Darren Aronofsky and Sarah Polley, respectively, feature formidable ensembles and rich scripts, and made me think quite a bit while watching them. Brendan Fraser is a lock for a nomination and a likely winner for the former, but I’m worried about his absolutely fantastic costar Sadie Sink (from Stranger Things) and the cast of Women Talking, which has a few standouts like Claire Foy and Jessie Buckley, though I’m not sure any of them will be able to earn awards attention.

The stellar cast of Women Talking

I’ll note that I also enjoyed Bros and The Menu, each of which demands a specific audience, and I had a much more forgiving – if still not terribly positive – impression of The Son than most. My feelings on The Banshees of Inisherin are similar to how I felt about Martin McDonagh’s last film, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and I’m not eager for an awards season lovefest for a film that I found relatively pointless if somewhat entertaining. I’ll close by expressing my enthusiasm for Glass Onion, the Knives Out sequel that shows what all sequels should be, which was a nice, affirming surprise.

 Get ready to experience the delight that is Glass Onion

What are you most excited to see from the TIFF lineup when it gets released?

Comments

[Mr Ripley79]

Nice reflection.

I don't see anyone posing a threat to Fraser,I think WT is going to get a lot of ensemble prizes and maybe Whishaw can stand out from the crowd as the main male character,he's been undervalued for too long.

[Richter Scale]

Hmm, interesting to see the only two negative reviews I've seen for The Banshees of Inisherin on this site (from you and Baby Clyde)... I personally found it hilarious and I love that Martin McDonagh has returned to Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson for this film and their chemistry remains intact. In my opinion, what you may find pointless or mean-spirited (I'm going more on Baby Clyde's review for that second qualifier), I found tragically absurd in ways McDonagh is an expert at. And while I would also say Brendan Fraser is the frontrunner for Best Actor right now, Colin Farrell did beat him for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival, so that does make me think that Farrell could take this from him (or at least get Farrell his long overdue first Oscar nomination... I still find it egregious he wasn't nominated for In Bruges).

I am, however, happy to see some love for The Swimmers, which is, all told, a very formulaic movie, but the story is so interesting and the Aegean Sea sequences so harrowing that it overcomes its formula trappings.

I also seem to be in the minority that I found Glass Onion underwhelming. Quite entertaining, but I found the plot machinations in Knives Out way more surprising and engaging, while Glass Onion felt like a very good, but not very surprising update on the Agatha Christie formula (though I do think it deserves a Production Design nomination).

[bouass daouda]

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