The Toronto International Film Festival is now underway, with thousands flocking to watch some of the most highly anticipated films of the year. As with Venice and Telluride, the Toronto festival (TIFF) has become a very important stop in the Oscar race for many fall movies, a place where reviews and buzz can make or break a contending film. The festival’s top prize, the People’s Choice Award, voted on by all TIFF attendees, has gone to a future Best Picture nominee in nine of the last 10 years, including Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in 2017, La La Land in 2016, Room in 2015, The Imitation Game in 2014, 12 Years a Slave in 2013, Silver Linings Playbook in 2012, The King’s Speech in 2010, Precious in 2009, and Slumdog Millionaire in 2008.
As I did with Venice, this post will serve as an aggregate of reviews for all Gala Presentation and Special Presentation films. I have only included world premieres here, so films that have premiered at other festivals like Venice and Telluride will not be featured. Each film is hyperlinked with a list of reviews from Rotten Tomatoes. I have indicated the Rotten Tomatoes score after each linked title, with the average feelings on the film in the parenthetical. Films are ranked in order by Rotten Tomatoes percentage.
ANTHROPOCENE: The Human Epoch – 100%
Director: Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier and Edward Burtynsky
Screenplay: Jennifer Baichwal
Narrator: Alicia Vikander
“Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, and Edward Burtynsky follow up Manufactured Landscapes and Watermark with a sobering meditation on psychedelic potash mines, expansive concrete seawalls, mammoth industrial machines, and other examples of humanity’s massive re-engineering of the planet.”
Giant Little Ones – 100%
Director: Keith Behrman
Screenplay: Keith Behrman
Cast: Josh Wiggins, Maria Bello, Kyle MacLachlan, Darren Mann, Taylor Hickson, Peter Outerbridge, Niamh Wilson
“In the latest from Canadian director Keith Behrman, Kyle MacLachlan and Maria Bello star as divorced parents whose teenage son (Josh Wiggins) faces seismic personal upheaval after an unexpected incident at a party.”
Gloria Bell – 100%
Director: Sebastián Lelio
Screenplay: Sebastián Lelio
Cast: Julianne Moore, John Turturro, Michael Cera, Caren Pistorius, Brad Garrett, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Rita Wilson, Holland Taylor
“Academy award winner Sebastián Lelio (A Fantastic Woman) directs Academy Award–winning actor Julianne Moore (Still Alice) in this English-language remake of his 2013 film about a free-spirited, middle-aged divorcee hoping to find love on the dance floor.”
Green Book – 100%
Director: Peter Farrelly
Screenplay: Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini
“Award-winning actors Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen star in this engrossing story of a working-class Italian-American bouncer who takes a job chauffeuring an African American classical pianist across the American South in the 1960s.”
The Hate U Give – 100%
Director: George Tillman, Jr.
Screenplay: Audrey Wells and Tina Mabry
Cast: Issa Rae, Anthony Mackie, Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Sabrina Carpenter, Common, K.J. Apa, Russell Hornsby, Lamar Johnson, Algee Smith
“A timely commentary in the Black Lives Matter era, George Tillman, Jr.’s adaptation of the novel by Angie Thomas follows Starr, a promising student and cherished daughter whose life is upended, then galvanized, when a friend is senselessly shot dead by police.”
Skin – 100%
Director: Guy Nattiv
Screenplay: Guy Nattiv
Cast: Jamie Bell, Vera Farmiga, Danielle Macdonald, Mike Colter, Bill Camp
“Jamie Bell stars in the true life story of Bryon Widner, a young man raised by skinheads, for whom turning his back on hatred and violence meant undergoing painful and expensive operations to remove the tattoos that signified his terrible past life — a process only possible with the support of a Black activist.”
Widows – 97%
Director: Steve McQueen
Screenplay: Steve McQueen and Gillian Flynn
Cast: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Daniel Kaluuya, Jacki Weaver, Robert Duvall, Liam Neeson
“A heavyweight cast — including Viola Davis, Daniel Kaluuya, Liam Neeson, Jacki Weaver, Colin Farrell, and Michelle Rodriguez — propels Steve McQueen’s white-knuckle thriller (co-written by Gone Girl’s Gillian Flynn) about four women left in a deadly lurch when their criminally connected husbands are all killed.”
High Life – 95%
Director: Claire Denis
Screenplay: Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau, Geoff Cox
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, André Benjamin, Mia Goth, Lars Eidinger, Agata Buzek, Claire Tran, Ewan Mitchell, Gloria Obianyo, Scarlett Lindsey, Jessie Ross, Victor Banerjee
“Master French filmmaker Claire Denis’s long-anticipated English-language debut and provocative sci-fi drama stars Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Mia Goth, and André Benjamin as a group of criminals sent into deep space.”
Mid90s – 94%
Director: Jonah Hill
Screenplay: Jonah Hill
Cast: Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges, Na-kel Smith, Gio Galicia, Ryder McLaughlin, Alexa Demie, Katherine Waterston, Olan Prenatt
“Jonah Hill makes his directorial debut with this coming-of-age story about a teenage boy who finds his scene when he meets an eclectic group of neighborhood skateboarders.”
If Beale Street Could Talk – 91%
Director: Barry Jenkins
Screenplay: Barry Jenkins
Cast: KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Colman Domingo, Teyonah Parris, Michael Beach, Aunjanue Ellis, Dave Franco, Diego Luna, Pedro Pascal, Emily Rios, Ed Skrein, Finn Wittrock, Bryan Tyree Henry, Regina King
“Director Barry Jenkins’ ambitious follow-up to Moonlight adapts James Baldwin’s poignant novel about a woman fighting to free her falsely accused husband from prison before the birth of their child.”
Ben Is Back – 86%
Director: Peter Hedges
Screenplay: Peter Hedges
Cast: Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges, Courtney B. Vance, Kathryn Newton
“The unexpected homecoming of a mother’s (Julia Roberts) charming yet troubled prodigal son (Lucas Hedges) forces her into a situation where she must do all she can to prevent her family’s downfall.”
MOUTHPIECE – 86%
Director: Patricia Rozema
Screenplay: Patricia Rozema, Norah Sadava, and Amy Nostbakken
Cast: Norah Sadava, Amy Nostbakken, Maev Beaty
“Patricia Rozema (I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing) adapts the award-winning two-woman play by Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava, about an aspiring writer attempting to reconcile her feminism with the conformist choices of her mother following her mother’s sudden death.”
The Land of Steady Habits – 82%
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Screenplay: Nicole Holofcener
Cast: Ben Mendelsohn, Edie Falco, Thomas Mann, Connie Britton, Elizabeth Marvel, Bill Camp, Charlie Tahan
“Ben Mendelsohn, Edie Falco, and Connie Britton star in the latest from Nicole Holofcener (Enough Said), in which a newly retired husband and father leaves his wife in search of freedom, but his reckless new path leaves him longing for the steady comforts of his old life.”
Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy – 80%
Director: Justin Kelly
Screenplay: Justin Kelly and Savannah Knoop
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern, Diane Kruger, Jim Sturgess, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Courtney Love, James Jagger, Dave Brown
“In this captivating true story, a young woman (Kristen Stewart) spends years playing the public role of Jeremiah “Terminator” LeRoy, an enigmatic and celebrated literary persona created by her sister-in-law (Laura Dern).”
Legend of the Demon Cat – 80%
Director: Chen Kaige
Screenplay: Chen Kaige and Wang Hui-Ling
Cast: Huang Xuan, Shota Sometani, Zhang Yuqi, Qin Hao, Sandrine Pinna, Hiroshi Abe, Liu Haoran, Oho Ou, Edward Zhang
“When a demonic cat possesses a general’s wife and wreaks havoc on a Tang Dynasty imperial court, killing a concubine, the unlikely duo of a Chinese poet and Japanese monk join forces to investigate.”
Beautiful Boy – 78%
Director: Felix van Groeningen
Screenplay: Felix van Groeningen and Luke Davies
Cast: Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet, Maura Tierney, Amy Ryan
“Based on the bestselling pair of memoirs by father and son David and Nic Sheff, Felix van Groeningen’s film chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse, and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years.”
Hotel Mumbai – 73%
Director: Anthony Maras
Screenplay: Anthony Maras and John Collee
Cast: Armie Hammer, Dev Patel, Nazanin Boniadi, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Anupam Kher, Jason Isaacs
“Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi (Homeland), and Anupam Kher (The Big Sick) star in Anthony Maras’s debut feature, about the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks and its survivors.”
Teen Spirit – 70%
Director: Max Minghella
Screenplay: Max Minghella
Cast: Elle Fanning, Rebecca Hall, Zlatko Buric
“A shy teenager dreams of pop stardom and enters an international singing competition as an escape from her small town and difficult family life, in actor Max Minghella’s (The Handmaid’s Tale) feature debut.”
Hold the Dark – 67%
Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Screenplay: Macon Blair
Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Alexander Skarsgård, James Badge Dale, Riley Keough, Julian Black Antelope
“When a child goes missing in Alaska, the man sent to find him becomes embroiled in a mass-murder investigation and tensions within the community, in Jeremy Saulnier’s adaptation of William Giraldi’s dark thriller.”
Husband Material – 67%
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Screenplay: Kanika Dhillon
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal, Abhishek Bachchan
“A spirited girl finds herself caught in a complicated love triangle while burdened with societal and familial pressures, in the latest from prolific Indian director Anurag Kashyap (Gangs of Wasseypur, The Brawler). Starring Vicky Kaushal, Abhishek Bachchan, and newcomer Taapsee Pannu.”
Maya – 67%
Director: Mia Hansen-Løve
Screenplay: Mia Hansen-Løve
Cast: Roman Kolinka, Aarshi Banerjee
“A French war correspondent released from captivity in Syria is unable to rebuild a normal life until he returns to his childhood home and meets a teenage girl who guides him forward, in the latest from writer-director Mia Hansen-Løve (Things to Come, Eden).”
Kursk – 64%
Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Screenplay: Robert Rodat
Cast: Matthias Schoenaerts, Léa Seydoux, Colin Firth
“Director Thomas Vinterberg and a formidable cast — including Matthias Schoenaerts, Léa Seydoux, and Colin Firth — recreate the tragic final hours of the real-life nuclear submarine explosion that left the ship stranded at the bottom of the Barents Sea, while bureaucratic obstacles impeded rescue and their families’ search for answers.”
The Hummingbird Project – 50%
Director: Kim Nguyen
Screenplay: Kim Nguyen
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Jesse Eisenberg, Salma Hayek, Michael Mando
“In the hopes of striking it rich, two scheming cousins (Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgård) try to build a thousand-mile-long, four-inch-wide tunnel from Kansas to New Jersey that will give them a one-millisecond edge on transactions at the New York Stock Exchange.”
A Million Little Pieces – 40%
Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson
Screenplay: Sam Taylor-Johnson and Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Giovanni Ribisi, Juliette Lewis, Odessa Young, Dash Mihok, Eugene Byrd, Charles Parnell, David Dastmalchian
“Sam Taylor-Johnson (50 Shades of Grey) brings to screen James Frey’s controversial 2003 bestseller about an alcoholic crack addict (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) who finds solace in the company of a past crime lord (Billy Bob Thornton) and a former sex worker (Odessa Young), revealing a pathway to renewal and redemption.”
Red Joan – 40%
Director: Trevor Nunn
Screenplay: Lindsay Shapero
Cast: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Stephen Campbell Moore, Tom Hughes
“Academy Award winner Judi Dench and Sophie Cookson take on the complex persona and legacy of Joan Stanley, the seemingly demure physicist who was also a long-serving British spy for the KGB.”
Outlaw King – 38%
Director: David Mackenzie
Screenplay: David Mackenzie, Bathsheba Doran, James MacInnes, Mark Bomback, David Harrower
Cast: Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Billy Howle, Florence Pugh, Tony Curran, Stephen Dillane, Sam Spruell
“Forced into exile by the English after being crowned King of Scotland, legendary warrior Robert the Bruce fights to reclaim the throne, in the latest from David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water).”
Life Itself – 20%
Director: Dan Fogelman
Screenplay: Dan Fogelman
Cast: Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening, Mandy Patinkin, Jean Smart, Olivia Cooke, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Laia Costa, Alex Monner
“Writer, director, and producer Dan Fogelman’s (This Is Us) affecting drama about life, love, and loss, ambitiously set across years and continents, features an impressive ensemble cast, including Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Annette Bening, Olivia Cooke, Mandy Patinkin, and Antonio Banderas.”
The Death and Life of John F. Donovan – 10%
Director: Xavier Dolan
Screenplay: Xavier Dolan and Jacob Tierney
Cast: Kit Harington, Jacob Tremblay, Natalie Portman, Susan Sarandon, Thandie Newton, Kathy Bates, Ben Schnetzer, Sarah Gadon, Emily Hampshire, Jared Keeso
“Xavier Dolan’s highly anticipated drama about a young man’s calculated reassessment of his infamous, and ultimately disastrous, childhood correspondence with an American television star features an all-star cast, including Kit Harington, Natalie Portman, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Thandie Newton, Jacob Tremblay, and Ben Schnetzer.”