Toronto film festival 2021
Toronto film festival 2021 roundup – from poets to deadly parasites
While overshadowed by its flashier film festival rivals, there were still gems to be found at Tiff 2021, from Terence Davies, Mélanie Laurent, Michael Pearce and more
Simran Hans
18, Sep, 2021 @3:00 PM
Dear Evan Hansen review – ghoulish Ben Platt sinks high school musical
The film adaptation of the Tony-winning musical can’t overcome its 27-year-old star’s creepy teen makeup and the story’s wobbly handling of mental health
Adrian Horton
14, Sep, 2021 @6:42 PM
The Survivor review – Barry Levinson’s solid postwar boxing drama
Ben Foster gives a committed performance as a Polish Jew who survived a Nazi death camp and became a boxer in a derivative yet confident film
Peter Bradshaw
14, Sep, 2021 @5:32 PM
The Desperate Hour (aka Lakewood) review – Naomi Watts school shooting thriller falls short
A pandemic-made project, starring the Oscar winner as a mother racing to save her son, starts out with tension but ends up in silliness
Benjamin Lee
13, Sep, 2021 @6:56 PM
The Eyes of Tammy Faye review – Jessica Chastain nails gaudy TV evangelist
A compelling performance from the often miscast actor carries an otherwise by-the-numbers look at a Christian couple who spectacularly fell from grace
Benjamin Lee
13, Sep, 2021 @3:15 AM
The Mad Woman’s Ball review – Mélanie Laurent’s compelling melodrama
The actor turns director again for a compelling psychodrama about women subjected to experimental psychiatric treatment
Peter Bradshaw
13, Sep, 2021 @3:00 AM
Benediction review – Terence Davies’ piercingly sad Siegfried Sassoon drama
The tragic life of the poet and soldier is revisited with melancholy and theatricality in a bleak, and often hard to watch, biopic
Peter Bradshaw
12, Sep, 2021 @8:30 PM
The Humans review – masterly family drama transfers from stage to screen
Stephen Karam’s Tony-winning play makes the leap to film with ease, an intimate – at times uncomfortably so – look at a family at Thanksgiving
Benjamin Lee
12, Sep, 2021 @7:30 PM
The Starling review – toe-curlingly embarrassing Melissa McCarthy drama
Netflix’s strange, sentimental film about a grieving woman who befriends a bird is a wildly misjudged mess
Peter Bradshaw
12, Sep, 2021 @4:13 PM
The Forgiven review – Chastain and Fiennes light up darkly comic thriller
John Michael McDonagh’s mostly entertaining adaptation of Laurence Osborne’s novel offers an unusual mix of provocation and penance
Benjamin Lee
11, Sep, 2021 @11:45 PM
Beba review – Rebeca Huntt’s personal, probing documentary-memoir
The acclaimed artist’s debut feature is an unsentimental look back on her upbringing with a rich texture but an opaque tone
Peter Bradshaw
11, Sep, 2021 @10:00 PM
The Guilty review – Jake Gyllenhaal’s tense 911 call thriller
A glossy Netflix remake of the 2018 single-location Danish thriller about a kidnapped woman seeking help is a well-made piece of entertainment
Peter Bradshaw
10, Sep, 2021 @5:00 PM
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