ROTTEN TOMATOES: Toronto Film Fest: The Good, The Bad, and The Better So Far

Toronto Film Fest: The Good, The Bad, and The Better So Far

A short roundup of some of the fest's flicks.

by Jen Yamato | September 11, 2007

Well, it certainly hasn't been a dull festival. Tons of films big (Michael Clayton) and small (Juno) have screened to kudos, and on the whole there haven't been very many outright disappointments (notwithstanding George Romero's Diary of the Dead and a few others).

It's now a week into the Toronto Film Festival, and we definitely have our favorites. They include, in no particular order: the Ian Curtis biopic Control, the quirky teen comedy Juno, Lars and the Real Girl starring Ryan Gosling, and Julie Taymor's ambitious Beatles-infused Across the Universe. Many other entries are good as well (No Country for Old Men, Michael Clayton, Lust, Caution, Disengagement). A few in particular are unconventionally enjoyable (Sukiyaki Western Django, Nothing is Private).

Across the Universe
I just came from a press screening of Brian DePalma's Redacted, anticipation of which stemmed from its second-place showing last week at the Venice Film Festival (where Ang Lee's Lust, Caution took the Golden Lion prize). With an unconventional format that combines a French-narrated faux-documentary, a deployed soldier's home videos, local Arab television reports and fictional video-hosting websites, Redacted tells the (based-on-a-true) story of a group of U.S. Army soldiers involved in the rape and murder of an Iraqi girl. DePalma's film is at least rife with meaning, though there are so many divisive issues concerning Iraq in Redacted that it's hard to know where to start. Are U.S. peace-keeping procedures dangerously confusing to Iraqis? Does mutual misunderstanding often lead to tragic civilian casualties? Do the media keep the rest of us adequately informed about a war that is happening on the other side of the world? Redacted is likely to split critics (one journalist warned me off, calling it straight-up "bad," while a smattering of applause erupted at the end of my screening).

Plenty of other films have gotten mixed receptions as well. Julie Taymor notoriously battled with studio execs over her Across the Universe, which combines a 1960s-1970s love story with historical events, all set to a near non-stop soundtrack of Beatles songs. Sound good to you, fellas? Unsurprisingly, Across the Universe seems to leave many male reviewers cold, while women (and predisposed lovers of musicals) enjoy it much more. The film is out in limited release this week. Full review to come!

Speaking of high profile cinematic gambles, I'm headed out to the late night screening of Todd Haynes' I'm Not There. Cate Blanchett nabbed Venice honors for her portrayal of Bob Dylan; six more actors take on different aspects of the legendary musician's life and persona, including Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, and Richard Gere. More on that very shortly.

Related Items

(1-13 of 13 posts) | Reply

unbreakable_samurai writes:
on Sep 11 2007 08:18 PM

Across the Universe looks damn sweet, I really want to see it. I'll be supprised if my city gets it friday but hopefully it doesn't take them to long.

(Reply to this)

A Lapse In Reason writes:
on Sep 11 2007 08:18 PM

You lucky bastard I wish I was there too. Does rotten want to send me to any film festivals?

(Reply to this)

nightbat666 writes:
on Sep 11 2007 10:19 PM

i'm not sure about the beatles one, what seperates it from a glorified music video with songs you already know people love. sounds cliche'd.

(Reply to this)

Bane Of Anubis writes:
on Sep 11 2007 10:45 PM

ATU looks absolutely horrible -- I guess my perception could be b/c I'm one of the few people who really can't stand The Beatles.

(Reply to this)

Jen Yamato writes:
on Sep 11 2007 11:44 PM

To be honest, I'm not a huge Beatles fan...but I find myself singing a ton of songs from the movie now, days after the screening. For what that's worth.

(Reply to this)

saiga6360 writes:
on Sep 12 2007 06:55 AM

Well there is clearly a difference between not being a "huge fan" and someone who "can't stand" the Beatles. :) I try to not be like my parents who are big fans but I do find myself humming a tune once in a while. Not too sure about a movie playing "near non-stop" Beatles songs, I might just go batty.

(Reply to this)

puablo writes:
on Sep 12 2007 09:56 AM

I'm a huge Beatles fan, but I just assumed that ATU was going to be horrible when I heard about it. Then the trailer got me interested, the recent article in the NY Times got me psyched, and a friend of mine who saw the Toronto screening came back and told me "Across The Universe. Sept. 21st. Be there." Apparently it was his favorite film, of those he saw, at the festival. I'm sold.

(Reply to this)

arendr writes:
on Sep 12 2007 11:07 AM

I keep seeing ads for Across the Universe in theatres...and everytime I sit there simmering. It looks so awful to me. And I love the Beatles.

(Reply to this)

rt_hire_me writes:
on Sep 12 2007 11:44 AM

Did I hear you right, Cate Blanchett nabbed Venice honors for her portrayal of Bob Dylan? Are we talking about the same Cate Blanchett?

(Reply to this)

Tim Ryan writes:
on Sep 12 2007 03:06 PM

In reply to this comment (#1118435)
You heard right.

(Reply to this)

simplekindoflovely writes:
on Sep 12 2007 03:47 PM

I caught Across The Universe on Tuesday at the Visa Screening Room and thought it was awesome. It does have some faults, mainly with the script, but nearly every scene was enjoyable. All three leads, especially Jim Sturgess, were wonderful and sure could sing. Sturgess' renditions of "Something", "I've Just Seen A Face" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" were fantastic.

We had a Q&A with Julie Taymor after the show and she mentioned that 90% of the performances in the film were done live on-set; there was very little dubbing of studio recordings in post-production. She proudly announced that Evan Rachel Wood sang "If I Fell" live on her first take and that is what was put into the final cut. It truly was beautiful - my mother and sister started crying.

(Reply to this)

simplekindoflovely writes:
on Sep 12 2007 03:48 PM

I caught Across The Universe on Tuesday at the Visa Screening Room and thought it was awesome. It does have some faults, mainly with the script, but nearly every scene was enjoyable. All three leads, especially Jim Sturgess, were wonderful and sure could sing. Sturgess' renditions of "Something", "I've Just Seen A Face" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" were fantastic.

We had a Q&A with Julie Taymor after the show and she mentioned that 90% of the performances in the film were done live on-set; there was very little dubbing of studio recordings in post-production. She proudly announced that Evan Rachel Wood sang "If I Fell" live on her first take and that is what was put into the final cut. It truly was beautiful - my mother and sister started crying.

(Reply to this)

ImaRobot writes:
on Sep 12 2007 04:49 PM

In reply to this comment (#1117003)
i don't think that using songs that people already know and love makes a movie cliched. I've never really seen a movie like this and it seems relatively original from what I have seen. It doesn't really seem like a music video, music videos are generally made as a tool for people to notice the song, and have no, or very rudimentary (or incomprehensible), storylines. This seems like a movie made with a storyline using famous music to compliment the story. But I haven't seen it, so I really can't say much.

(Reply to this)

Movie:	Sukiyaki Western Django
	Lars And The Real Girl
	No Country for Old Men
	Michael Clayton
	Control
	I'm Not There
	Juno
	Redacted
	George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead
	Towelhead
	Lust, Caution
	Across the Universe
Celeb:	Bob Dylan
	Richard Gere
	Beatles
	Todd Haynes
	Julie Taymor
	Ang Lee
	Cate Blanchett
	Heath Ledger
	Ryan Gosling
	Christian Bale