TIFF 51: Andrew Scott delivers an Oscar-worthy performance in “Elsinore”
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 8:00PM by Eurocheese
Heading into my screening of Elsinore on the last day of the festival, I had heard a number of mixed things on the ground. Some said the film pulls too readily at heartstrings without much plot. I’d heard rumblings that it was likely to win an audience prize, and it ended up taking the International People’s Choice Award before I saw it (yes, it’s eligible since it’s a UK production and La Bola Negra became automatically disqualified for the honor when it won TIFF’s general People’s Choice Award). There were those who thought Olivia Colman didn’t have enough to do, and I heard folks say it flat-out didn’t work. Since this was one of my most anticipated titles heading into the festival, I was beyond curious about how I would ultimately feel…
One thing everyone seemed to agree on: Not only is Andrew Scott excellent, but he is also delivering an awards-bait showcase that deserves every bit of the praise it will inevitably receive this season. He plays Ian Charleson, an actor best known for his performance in Chariots of Fire. That Best Picture winner from the early 80s becomes a comic motif of sorts, as it seems the actor can’t escape Vangelis’ iconic theme wherever he goes. By the time we find him, Charleson is landing mediocre work on film when an opportunity arises – Daniel Day-Lewis has walked off stage mid-performance during Hamlet, and they’re looking for an emergency replacement. Knowing this is a huge endeavor and opportunity, he takes on the role. Immediately after, he finds a telltale lesion on his face, familiar to many queer men at the time. He knows this means his HIV has progressed to AIDS.
Elsinore focuses on the importance of making good use of the time we have, an especially important theme when portraying a time when so much of the gay community was making decisions based on the keen awareness of their own mortality. The week before my screening, I attended an “In Conversation With…” session with Scott, where he talked about why he felt it was important to produce this movie. One theme that spoke to him was the pursuit of personal joy above all else, and in a clip from Elsinore where he debates what matters most in his life with his doctor (Colman), the actor was moved to tears (and mocked himself for crying at his own clip). He talked about how all of us make decisions at some point that shape our trajectories, and those decisions interest him more in his characters than their sexuality or any single aspect of their being. That resolute joy, the determination to pursue greatness, is what he hopes to achieve for himself and what he saw in Charleson as he played him at this juncture in the late thespian’s life.
I can understand why Elsinore doesn’t work for everyone. There are montages of clips when he is studying Hamlet that feel like a bit of a cheat in amping up emotions, and flashbacks near the end that milk the audience’s sympathies like nobody’s business. The plot points align with what we have seen in from films with similar stories, Simon Stone’s direction isn’t particularly impressive, and there aren’t any scenes that manage to surprise in any significant way. Elsinore is by the numbers, through and through. Even so, Scott carries it with determination, giving every ounce of himself for our appreciation and awe. Charleson talks about the pursuit of artistic greatness almost as if it’s a holy cause, a quest he must complete before the end. Hamlet is his last Herculean task to conquer. After that, he can die in peace.
Olivia Colman has a small role but provides necessary conflict as the health-focused doctor attempting to gatekeep Charleson from further destroying his body, which increasingly shows signs of deterioration under the stress of the stage production. Derek Jarman (played by David Dawson), who directed Charleson early in his career, appears to chastise him for staying in the closet, eventually leading to a blow-up between the characters. The real enemy here is the temporariness of it all, though, and everything else is secondary to time passing and the actor left sucking the marrow out of every moment he has left. Nobility or stability is not of interest. Occasionally, Scott shows us the toll it takes on Charleson while convincing us why it doesn’t deter him from what he wants to do. The score sweeps the audience in to aid its leading man, and, while the point may be a bit too clearly underlined, there’s a reason this is winning audiences over – it’s hard not to get caught up in the pulsing thrust towards Elsinore’s rousing final scenes.
While mileage may vary, there’s no question that Elsinore contains one of the great performances of the cinematic year, and I’m thrilled Andrew Scott is having this moment after a couple of awards-worthy turns left sadly unrewarded. Another festival audience winner, I Play Rocky, has been swarmed with praise for its emotional responses in the crowds. Having also screened it at TIFF, I’d argue that it is a far less ambitious or interesting movie. Yet, as I heard many festival attendees say, “I don’t know, I just liked it.” Well, walking out of the theater, I had to concede that Elsinore isn’t a perfect film, but if its goal was hitting me emotionally, it did its job. I don’t know, I just liked it.
Our TIFF coverage will, of course, extend past the festival proper, even as we prepare to tackle NYFF in a few days. Expect some more reviews, wrap-up posts, convos between team members who were on the ground and, of course, Cláudio’s review of La Bola Negra, this year’s People’s Choice Award champion and current Oscar frontrunner.
Reader Comments (6)
I am so pleased for Scott,his last 2 turns in All of us Strangers and Blue Moon were both worthy of the statue and polar opposite roles and one lead and one supporting.
I am sure his time has come to be nominated but he's probably going to lose to John Malkovich or more likely Matt Damon.
Can Colman grab her 4th nomination in supporting.
I was hoping to hear your take on Elsinore, so thank you!
I’m glad that Andrew Scott’s performance is generally conceded to be “undeniable”, so it isn’t being denied, although there seems to be some chatter that it has less value because the movie around it isn’t “perfect”.
So all these other movies that are being huckstered for Best Actor are “perfect” then?
I sometimes wonder why there seems to be such resistance when miraculously, marvellously, surprisingly, a piece of art shows up that has an extraordinarily high level of artistry and complete sincerity?
I don’t believe that most of us are satisfied with the corporate comfort zone of art that is shoved at us, with its low to medium levels of artistry and its low levels of sincerity.
My guess is that when I see Elsinore, my response will be: “I liked it, and I DO know why”.
McGill- the chatter might be from the statistics around best actor. For the last 15 years, with the exception of Brendan Fraser, each Best Actor winner was in a film nominated for Best Picture. And the last three winners were either from the big winner that night or the consensus runner up. If Elsinore isn't getting a Best Picture nomination, then people keep pointing out that this statistic "hurts" Scott's chances of winning. If Wild Horse Nine and The Odyssey for shoe in nominations then that "helps" Malkovich and Damon.
This kind of talk isn't great as it is already establishing a narrative that Scott is good enough for a nom but not a win as there isn't enough passion behind his film. I am of the belief that the best performance should win even if the film housing it isn't the greatest- undeniable should mean undeniable, right?- but narrative spin has always played a part in who ends up with an Oscar. Sometimes the spin is big or small but there is always an effect.
That being said, Scott also has the narrative of being perhaps the greatest English theatre talent of his generation and having missed for All Of Us Strangers a few years ago, is due for something. Fleabag residual love also plays a part- that man awakened things in many people.
I am glad he is getting praise as he is talented and deserves it (in my opinion he should have won for All Of Us Strangers) It is still early in the season so we have to see what happens or what narrative ends up taking hold.
Singing to the choir TomG! Thanks for the clear elucidation.
Well a nomination IS a big honor, and it sounds as though that's possible here for Andrew Scott. I am intrigued by this one, and this makes it sound like it's a bit like Renee in JUDY or Brendan Fraser in THE WHALE, or Ethan Hawke in BLUE MOON. A performance this is great and should be lauded, even if the movie around the performance doesn't match the greatness.
Love that the year's two big TIFF winners were queer films, even if I didn't happen to catch ELSINORE while at the fest.