By Jim Slotek, Linda Barnard, Thom Ernst, Karen Gordon, Kim Hughes, Liam Lacey, and Bonnie Laufer

So, how was your TIFF 2021? Did you re-enter theatres to see movies in a physically distanced way or did you elect to do digital from the safety of home? And how did that go?

To be sure, organizers behind the 46th annual Toronto International Film Festival had multiple logistical and technical hurdles to clear with virtually no star-powered glitz to distract the citizenry from the reality at hand.

Still, film — feature or short, fiction or doc — remained the key point of everything. And as usual, TIFF delivered. Not always smoothly, but the chance to see arthouse or independent films from Ecuador and Iran that might never screen here again remained a strong counterpoint to any streaming inconveniences.

As in years’ past, Original-Cin writers screened as many films as possible to offer recommendations on best bets and must avoids. Though occasionally hamstrung by head-scratching embargoes and technical snafus, we managed to capsule roughly 60+ movies of every stripe. Don’t mention it.

Here, we summarize what we loved, and didn’t, as well as offering a friendly tap on the shoulder to TIFF with suggestions on how to improve going forward.

Dear TIFF: thanks for having us. Dear readers: thanks for reading.

Jim Slotek

Loved: Spencer. This film stayed with me, a “tone poem” about Princess Diana, according to its director Pablo Larraín. At times, it’s more a horror film about spending an opulent weekend with a family of militarized, joyless robots. Whether it’s an accurate depiction of anything is beside the point. It advertises itself as a fable, the visuals are antiquely opulent, the soundtrack inspires dread, and Kristen Stewart’s unique streak of crust and vulnerability are perfect for this laconic performance.

Not So Much: Last Night in Soho. Dashed expectations on my part. Edgar Wright directing Anya Taylor-Joy as a would-be pop singer in the Carnaby Street era in a surrealist, time-hopping film with a feel-good ‘60s soundtrack? It sounds fun and quirky, and it is, until it’s not. Midway through, Wright abruptly paints it black and ends up with a ghost/murder story that isn’t terrible but doesn’t bring anything new to the horror genre while leaving behind its initial quirky charm.

Hey TIFF! Pick a lane. A virtual festival is not a virtual festival if all movies aren’t available or are geo-blocked (and the online glitches this year were unprecedented). It’s kind of weird to read “Not available in your country” beside Canadian movies. Meanwhile, theatrical screenings were a bit of a mess, with “socially distanced” ticketing (Hello, Ticketmaster) that sometimes placed you cheek-to-jowl with others (happened to me twice).

Linda Barnard

Loved: The Gravedigger’s Wife. Finnish-Somali writer-director Khadar Ayderus Ahmed’s Djibouti-set story is a tenderly moving of examination of love and devotion. A universal story told by untrained actors and beautifully shot.

Not So Much: The Starling. Hallmark-level schmaltz and low-brow gags lay an egg, with Melissa McCarthy and Chris O’Dowd as grieving parents. If Kevin Kline’s psychiatrist-tuned-vet can’t help, maybe the dive-bombing neighbourhood starling has answers.

Hey TIFF! The hybrid virtual/in-person film fest model was a lukewarm experience for me as I covered TIFF remotely. The streaming platform crashed on Day 1, 48-hour windows to watch were a drag and many top titles didn’t stream at all. And then there were the “not available in your country” films.

Thom Ernst

Loved: Bretten Hannam’s feature film debut, Wildhood, about a young man (Phillip Lewitski) searching for a mother he thought was dead, is a compilation of small miracles harnessing a coming-of-age story within the conventions of a road movie. Lewinsky takes to the screen as a young Brad Pitt circa Thelma and Louise.

Not so much: Nothing. Although Annie Hardy playing Annie Hardy in Rob Savage’s Dashcam is one of the most grating, unwatchable characters I ever had to endure in a movie. She’s meant to be polarizing, so good on Hardy for pushing that through; just don’t expect audiences to care what happens to her.

Hey TIFF! What do you say we get back to Midnight Madness movies that are truly mad? The selection of films mainly was great, but none of them offered the wild, unrepressed ride of excess that drives a partying crowd who show up at midnight to challenge their boundaries of good taste.

Karen Gordon

Loved: Maria Chapdelaine, an exquisitely shot, slow, quiet beautiful movie about a young woman coming of age in rural Quebec in the early 1900s.

Not So Much: Silent Night. Great ideas, wonderful cast, but uneven execution.

Hey TIFF! I love seeing movies in theatres, but hope the digital platform continues beyond COVID. At a festival, the ability to watch on digital means seeing as many movies as the eyeballs can handle.

Kim Hughes

Loved: The first 20 minutes or so of The Electrical Life of Louis Wain felt cringey and made me uncertain about whether I could withstand Benedict Cumberbatch’s tics and baroque soliloquies for two hours. By the end I was smitten. Talk about inhabiting a character and taking the audience along for the ride.

Not So Much: Oscar Peterson: Black + White was a film I approached with great enthusiasm but left feeling meh. While it’s (conceptually) nice that many Canadian jazz musicians got to offer musical props to the maestro, those scenes sandbagged the narrative and scanned as gratuitous. Peterson’s story could have stood on its own.

Hey TIFF! The embargo rules were knuckleheaded and poorly communicated. The language about when a review could appear was unclear — following the first public screening or the first press and industry screening? Where is the logic in imposing an embargo on a film that has already screened at other festivals? And why shouldn’t accredited media be permitted to review something ahead of first screening as a guide to the ticket-buying public?

Liam Lacey

Loved: At just 72 minutes, Petite Maman is a small film of great originality and tenderness. The latest work from Céline Sciamma (Girlhood, Portrait of a Lady on Fire) is a meditation on childhood, grief, and mothers and daughters that erases the line between the literal and the imaginary.

Not So Much: The Eyes of Tammy Faye. While it’s competently executed and Jessica Chastain’s outsized caricature of the freakish Tammy Faye demands attention, I couldn’t locate joy or purpose to this formulaic biopic about a couple of religious hucksters.

Hey TIFF! In a challenging year, TIFF’s media messaging was on autopilot, toggling between humble-proud manifestos about inclusion and hyperbolic celebrity worship. Meanwhile, the press corps struggled with incoherent review embargoes, erratically enforced COVID protocols, and technical glitches that hampered critics from doing their jobs.

Bonnie Laufer

Loved: Belfast. Written (over the lockdown) and directed by Kenneth Branagh and shot in glorious black and white, Branagh’s semi-autobiographical film blew me away. Stars Caitriona Balfe and Jamie Dornan never looked so good and break-out star Jude Hill, who plays their youngest son Buddy, is a revelation. Any movie featuring Jamie Dornan singing “Everlasting Love” has my undying attention. Watch for Oscar accolades in several categories.

Not So Much: I didn’t really have any “hated it” movies, but one that did not grab my attention was Benediction. I was looking forward to this latest from director Terence Davies, but it had me snoring 15 minutes in. I quite liked Davies’ last film, A Quiet Passion (about Emily Dickinson) but this one about English poet, writer, and soldier Siegfried Sassoon didn’t do it for me.

Hey TIFF! What was up with not allowing Canadians access to some Canadian movies via your digital portal? I found this infuriating. I was so looking forward to screening Michael McGowan’s All My Puny Sorrows but only Americans were given that privilege. Unacceptable. While we are on the topic of digital screeners, I do hope you will consider offering this option forever! I understand that some filmmakers want their films seen on the big screen, but for those of us who are happy with the digital options, keep ‘em coming.

That’s A Wrap! The Best and Worst of TIFF ’21 (With Tips on How to Improve)

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