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FeedTIFF 2010: Day Two (so far)
After a rather odd day one—in the sense that it featured a non-subtitled foreign film and a badly dubbed but quite fun Chinese film—day two began with a "junket" screening of a film that both Jared and I had pegged as our possibly-maybe-sure-hope-so-best-of-fest from the time we received confirmation of the screening: Mark Romanek's Never Let Me Go.
I'm quite chuffed to say we both drew the same conclusion following the 8 a.m. screening—it's the best fillm we've seen so far this year, a stunningly powerful yet subtle film about three friends, the secret that seals their futures, and how they cope with it from boarding school to adulthood. I hesitate to say much more about the plot, since NOT knowing is quite preferable. (I had read the book, so I knew what was doin'.)
So let me instead praise the understated Carey Mulligan, the lovably sincere Andrew Garfield, and the nicely controlling Kiera Knightley. Three amazing performances, a strong script, and gorgeous direction from Romanek make this the quintessential festival experience—surprising, slightly disturbing, and emotionally involving. I'd call it a 10 out of 10 with no hesitation.
Pity, then, Tony Goldwyn's Conviction, a well-made, well-acted, wholly conventional drama that suffers mightily in comparison with the wildly unconventional Never Let Me Go. Not totally its fault. It is, without question, a solid, occasionally TV-movie work about a sister's (Hillary Swank) dedication to helping to prove her brother's (Sam Rockwell) innocence. Swank and Goldwyn could both garner Oscar nods, and the rest of the cast, from a brassy Minnie Driver to Peter Gallagher, shines.
But after Never Let Me Go? It just doesn't feel all that groundbreaking. Let's go solid 6 of 10,
As for yesterday, I give Godard's Film Socialism a ? out of 10 on the grounds of confusion. And yet, I was riveted by its cruise-ship-set first hour or so, and found the entire affair, while obscure, difficult, and sometimes, boring, a fascinating excursion into the mind of a filmmaker who seems to know what he's getting at, but isn't so sure you should be able to tell.
Legend of the Fist was a fun yet not wholly memorable film. I enjoyed it, but today remember little. Another 6 out of 10,
So, not bad so far, and much to come for the rest of today into tomorrow, I just wish our hotel had told us the continental breakfast wasn't free before we started chowing down. It was free two years ago ...
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Thankfully, because the junkets were back-to-back and early in the morning, we found ourselves with some much needed free time for a little lunch at the wonderful 3 Brewers, and even some hotel rest watching the Bryan Brothers win the US Open doubles championship and for Chris to Skype home with his wife and newborn son. The welcome reprieve almost made it hard to get back into the swing of movies, especially with what appeared to be an overlong, personal journey through nature in Emilio Estevez's The Way. We never anticipated that the movie would be as good as it was.
A personal trek through Spain by a father (Martin Sheen) sending his tragically just-deceased son on his way, sees an old opthamologist find his long dormant fervor for life. It's a spiritual mission to complete the 800 kilometer Camino de Santiago, spreading his son's ashes along the way—one last father/son trip he shrugged off taking months earlier. If nothing else, I know have a new European hike to complete before I'm 50. I give it an 8/10.
Back on the subway, we made our way to the final venue of the evening for two films we had no idea what to expect from. The Australian Wasted on the Young became a welcome gem living up to the festival book's description of Elephant meets "Gossip Girl". A powerful look into the ambivalence of today's youth and the artificial world based on popularity and fear in high school they reside in, the story itself is based upon the Duke University scandal not so long ago. The Aussies continue to bring their A-game to the world of cinema. 7/10.
And then came Joaquin Phoenix's and Casey Affleck's is it/isn't it documentary on the former's descent into personal hell upon retiring from acting. I'm Still Here is fascinating on paper and intriguing as hell conceptually, but watching it all play out onscreen left me completely cold. What worked so well the past two years via internet rumor, YouTube clips, and tabloid TV speculation never lives up to the hype in film form. There is nothing new added to the debate and really Affleck only rehashes what we already know. Laughs are had, behind the scenes interactions are shown, and cocaine, excrement, cursing, and male genitalia run rampant, but what is the point? I appreciate what they've tried to do (whether real or not), but I was utterly bored giving it a 4/10 ... I know Chris enjoyed it much more than I.