THE KING'S SPEECH

Written by David Seidler

Directed by Tom Hooper

Starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter

King George VI: Waiting for me to commence a conversation, one can wait a rather long wait.

When a king speaks, he must command attention. Though the British monarchy may be more iconography than anything else at this point in history, people will still look to their royal leader for guidance and reassurance in times of woe and doubt. That’s a lot of pressure for someone who may never have wanted to assume the responsibility to begin with. Unfortunately for King George VI, his birthright meant he did not have any choice in the matter. It’s not that he didn’t think he could do it; it’s just that he wasn’t confidant enough to think anyone would care to have him.

Forget the king; when director Tom Hooper speaks, he has my full attention. After his impressive first feature last year, THE DAMNED UNITED, Hooper continues his journey in regal fashion with THE KING’S SPEECH and delivers the goods right from the start. Colin Firth, who could easily garner another Oscar nod with his heartbreaking work here, is the Duke of York. It is 1925 and he is about to address the nation. The tension builds and by the time he gets to the podium, every ear in the land appears to be waiting to hear what he has to say. At first, there is nothing. What follows that awkwardness is a disjointed, passionless address that he stammers all the way through. It may not be as epic a global failure as modern day technology allows but enough people were listening to make it seem like a public collapse that he might never recover from.

He almost didn’t. King George VI went through many speech therapists before landing on Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Logue helps George break down the years of subtle abuse one suffers as the son of a king to see that his speech impediment is the result of isolation and lack of confidence, not something particularly physical. Their banter is at times hilarious and at others quite intense. Their immense combined talent, along with supporting turns from Helena Bonham Carter and Guy Pearce, give THE KING’S SPEECH even more depth and flourish than Hooper already has. Together, they created a film that will certainly resonate long after it’s said what it has to say.

TIFF BITS: Friday, September 10

Today marks two very important things.  The first important thing about today is that it is my friend, Christopher's birthday.  I wish I could be spending it with him but he is far and there is the whole matter of the second important things about today that is getting in the way.  Today marks the first full day of screenings at TIFF.  So, I wish you well, Christopher, but duty calls.

The duty I am referring to specifically is my obligation to attend the a screening of Darren Aronofsky's BLACK SWAN this morning.  I could not be more excited about that.  Hopefully, it lives up to my expectations.  Past that, I am interviewing the director of BIUTIFUL, Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu today. I'm a wee bit nervous for this given that he is such a prolific director; this is the man who gave us AMORES PERROS and BABEL after all.  As if that weren't enough, I am also interviewing the film's star, Javier Bardem, the Academy Award winning actor of NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. Be sure to check out my TIFF'd video blog this evening for a full recap.

Now, as for you all, here's what you can expect at TIFF today.  Tonight's big galas are for Tom Hooper's THE KING'S SPEECH and David Schwimmer's TRUST, starring Catherine Keener and Clive Owen.  My full review for THE KING'S SPEECH is posted below and I am only seeing TRUST tomorrow morning so I can't really help you out there.  I can make these suggestions though:

BIUTIFUL

Winter Garden Theatre - 8:00

It isn't always easy to interview people when you don't like their movie.  Fortunately for me, I thoroughly enjoyed this Spanish language film.  Like most of Inarritu's work, it focuses on death and the kinds of perspective it gives you on your life.  Bardem is brilliant in the film and it lives up to its mispelled name in terms of aesthetics.  Both director and star are expected to attend this North American premiere.

I'M STILL HERE

Varsity Theatre - 10:00

I'm going to have to sleep on this one before I make up my full mind about it.  This is the Joaquin Phoenix documentary about his quitting acting and becoming a hip hop recording artist, as lensed by brother-in-law, Casey Affleck.  This documentary could be a hoax but the beauty of it is that you can never be sure as to whether it is or not.  It is vulgar, offensive, uncomfortable and oddly enlightening on the subjects of celebrity, ego and opportunity.  It will be released in theatres soon but check it out at TIFF if you get a chance.

Don't forget to check Black Sheep back at the end of the day for TIFF'd, a video blog about how the whole day went.  Please note that yesterday's TIFF'd had to come down due to some issues I was having with it.  They have been worked out though and video blogging commences again, if that's possible, today!

Bon cinema and happy TIFF!

TIFF Review: THE KING'S SPEECH

Written by David Seidler

Directed by Tom Hooper

Starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter

There is no official poster for this film yet.

King George VI: Waiting for me to commence a conversation, one can wait a rather long wait.

When a king speaks, he must command attention. Though the British monarchy may be more iconography than anything else at this point in history, people will still look to their royal leader for guidance and reassurance in times of woe and doubt. That’s a lot of pressure for someone who may never have wanted to assume the responsibility to begin with. Unfortunately for King George VI, his birthright meant he did not have any choice in the matter. It’s not that he didn’t think he could do it; it’s just that he wasn’t confidant enough to think anyone would care to have him.

Forget the king; when director Tom Hooper speaks, he has my full attention. After his impressive first feature last year, THE DAMNED UNITED, Hooper continues his journey in regal fashion with THE KING’S SPEECH and delivers the goods right from the start. Colin Firth, who could easily garner another Oscar nod with his heartbreaking work here, is the Duke of York. It is 1925 and he is about to address the nation. The tension builds and by the time he gets to the podium, every ear in the land appears to be waiting to hear what he has to say. At first, there is nothing. What follows that awkwardness is a disjointed, passionless address that he stammers all the way through. It may not be as epic a global failure as modern day technology allows but enough people were listening to make it seem like a public collapse that he might never recover from.

He almost didn’t. King George VI went through many speech therapists before landing on Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Logue helps George break down the years of subtle abuse one suffers as the son of a king to see that his speech impediment is the result of isolation and lack of confidence, not something particularly physical. Their banter is at times hilarious and at others quite intense. Their immense combined talent, along with supporting turns from Helena Bonham Carter and Guy Pearce, give THE KING’S SPEECH even more depth and flourish than Hooper already has. Together, they created a film that will certainly resonate long after it’s said what it has to say.

Shearing the Oscars: Best Actor

This weekend, Black Sheep will be taking a closer look at one of the most exciting categories and one of the most infuriating at this year's Academy Awards. As I figure it best to start my weekend on a positive note, I am going to go with exciting to start. The ladies will wait until tomorrow, where apparently I will begin my day with a coffee and a scowl as I muse on their category. Meanwhile, if we could get to the gentlemen, and they all appear to be folks I could say that about, I describe the Best Actor category as exciting because I genuinely feel that they all deserve to be there. Though Bridges definitely has the edge, it is not a lost cause for the other competitors. And the nominees are ...

JEFF BRIDGES as Bad Black in CRAZY HEART


I did not get the chance to review Scott Cooper's CRAZY HEART when it came out but if I had I would have called it pretty good but not amazing. I also would have said that Bridge's incredible performance is the only real reason to see this film. To watch him disheveled and barely able to stand up is to understand how heavy life can get for an alcoholic who has no respect for his own self. His expression is restrained and real but his resonance is staggering. Bridges has been nominated for four Oscars already, the first for 1971's THE LAST PICTURE SHOW and the last for 2000's THE CONTENDER, but he has yet to win. After snagging the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild Award for this role, Bridges does seem somewhat destined.

GEORGE CLOONEY as Ryan Bingham in UP IN THE AIR


Clooney had the momentum going in. He picked up early kudos from the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle for his smooth work as Ryan Bingham, in Jason Reitman's UP IN THE AIR. The role almost seems tailor made for Clooney, as art imitates what we think we know about his life. Bingham is unattached and approaching 50. He has no interest in settling in one place in particular or holding any one person's hand for too long. Clooney brings so much more than himself to the role though. He brings class and sophistication and such sympathy that he sets the tone for the film to follow. He has lost his edge though and has already won for a supporting role in SYRIANA. He could turn it around but I fear his plane might be grounded.

COLIN FIRTH as George in A SINGLE MAN


I have never really been a big Colin Firth fan. When I caught the North American premiere of Tom Ford's A SINGLE MAN at TIFF this fall though, I was floored by the depth of his range and how much sadness he could carry in his soul. Firth was on hand for the premiere and he could not appear to be more proud of his work and the film itself. The Academy didn't shower A SINGLE MAN with any other love than this nod though so Firth has his work cut out for him. He won awards for his work at the Venice Film Festival as well as from some West Coast critic's associations but so far, he has come up short for anything really big. This is his first nomination and without a major campaign, I can't see this being his first win as well.

MORGAN FREEMAN as Nelson Mandela in INVICTUS


I'm happy to say that with Freeman's and Matt Damon's Supporting Actor nods being the only one's awarded to Clint Eastwood's INVICTUS, it would appear that the Academy's unconditional love for all of Eastwood's work is finally falling off. The best thing about INVICTUS is the acting and Freeman certainly deserves to be nominated for his uncanny interpretation of the former President of South Africa. My criticism, and also why I don't feel this fifth nomination will turn into a second win for Freeman, is that his performance often borders more on imitation.

JEREMY RENNER as Staff Sgt. William James in THE HURT LOCKER


Renner's nod is the only one that doesn't match my Top 5 for the year. I enjoyed him. I felt that he brought different layers to a role that could have been very one-dimensional. I just happened to enjoy another performance more (Michael Stuhlbarg in A SERIOUS MAN). Renner is a fairly fresh face and this is his first nomination. My guess is that he got swept up in the enormous support for Kathryn Bigelow's THE HURT LOCKER and that just being honoured among these other veteran actors is his award.

WHO WILL WIN? Jeff Bridges

WHO COULD STILL UPSET? George Clooney

And so there are the men. Tomorrow, it's the women. I will not be covering the supporting categories as those are pretty much locks already. What do you think? Who do you think will win? And who do you think actually should win? Black Sheep wants to know what you think!

A SINGLE MAN

Written and Directed by Tom Ford
Starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode and Nicolas Hoult


George: It takes time in the morning for me to become George.

At one point not so long ago, it was the big joke that what everyone in Hollywood who wasn’t already doing so really wanted to do was direct. While that often led to disastrous results, one can still muster high hopes for directorial debuts from the likes of someone as sophisticated as Tom Ford, most known for his work in fashion as a designer. With A SINGLE MAN, based on the Christopher Isherwood novel, Ford takes everything he knows about style and substance and translates his impeccable attention to detail from the runway to the big screen. In doing so, he has not only made a first feature that stands out with incredible promise for his future endeavors but he has also made one of the best films this year amongst directors both fresh and seasoned.


It is November 1962 and it has been eight months since George (Colin Firth) lost his lover of 16 years, Jim (Matthew Goode), in a car accident. We meet George on a very important day; it is the day in which he has decided will be his last. From the moment he wakes, he looks as though the battle is already lost. Every movement, every task looks laboured and difficult to manage. George has been living too long without the love that gave his life meaning and the manner in which Firth carries George allows his pain to resonate past the screen. I’m not a huge Firth fan; I’ve got nothing against him but I’ve never been thoroughly engaged by anything he’s done prior to this. That said, I can honestly say that his work in A SINGLE MAN is the singular best work of his career. He even eclipses a ravishing Julianne Moore! His eyes are sad, his demeanor is heavy but it is the constant struggle between the restraint he is required to exhibit publicly and the emotional collapse he is hiding beneath the surface of every pore that makes Firth unforgettable.


As one would expect, any film by Tom Ford is going to look good. Lensed by up and coming Spanish cinematographer, Eduard Grau, with a production design by “Mad Men” designer, Dan Bishop, A SINGLE MAN is both sensual and authentic. It also has the point of view of an easily distracted gay man with a roaming eye. Conversations about the Cuban missile crisis can only hold George’s attention for so long before his eyes turn to close-up shots of shirtless men playing tennis or something equally tantalizing. Not only is this perspective one that would have been spit upon in 1962, it is still a rare find today to come across a film that is unapologetically gay. Ford, an openly gay man himself, clearly has no interest in pandering to anyone as a filmmaker and the directness with which he tells this painful story of loss and loneliness is invigorating and commendable.


George likes to think of himself as invisible. After Jim’s death, he did everything he could to be exactly that but he felt that way long before this. For George, and sadly for so many others, being gay means having to swallow any words that might affirm who you are. The goal is to go unnoticed and it isn’t all that difficult. People see what they want to see and can go on living in that ignorant bliss for a long time until they can’t anymore. In George’s world, he lived as open a life as he could, even going so far as to live with his lover in a glass house, but that meant scrutiny. What they refused to see before, they don’t want to see now and with no outlet to validate the love that George lost, his life loses all meaning. Fortunately, Ford frames George’s plight with sympathy and care and subsequently, A SINGLE MAN becomes more than just a film – it becomes an indisputable argument for a generation of gay men and women still fighting for their civil rights today.

Black Sheep @ TIFF 2009!

Last night was one of those perfect evenings at the festival. The night air was fresh and alive; the crowds were out; and the North American premiere of fashion designer/photographer, Tom Ford’s first feature film, A SINGLE MAN, was about to take place about five walking minutes away from my place. I was too far back in line to see the red carpet arrivals but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t surrounded by the industry I so want to be a part of. The two gentlemen behind me in line went on about how many screens their new film was going to open on this fall; Canadian director, Atom Egoyan just waltzed past me; and, when I made my way to my second row seat in the theatre, I turned back to see Patricia Clarkson and CAIRO TIME co-star, Alexander Siddig, sit not more than three rows behind me.


Then it was time to welcome the dapper and gentlemanly Mr. Ford and the stars of his movie, Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. They were all a few feet away from me and we were moments away from watching one of TIFF’s most intriguing titles. After winning rave reviews in Venice last week, A SINGLE MAN had the house full of distributors wanting to see what all the fuss was about. The film was certainly worth the hype; naturally, it was gorgeous and definitely stylish. What else would one expect from a Tom Ford film? This story of a man who has lost his lover of sixteen years in a time when his relationship would not even be given any validation was heartbreaking and somehow very steamy. And for the first time, I truly enjoyed watching Firth. He is incredible in the lead role and he will certainly be a contender come awards season.


The only downside to the evening was raising my hand to ask a question during the Q&A after the movie, seeing Tom Ford look directly at me and notice my hand up and then have the moderator call on someone else for what would be the last question of the evening. My arm sunk down but nothing could have sunk the magic that lifted this evening higher than I ever expected. I even held the door open for Miss Clarkson on my way out …

EASY VIRTUE

Written by Stephan Elliott & Sheridan Jobbins
Directed by Stephan Elliott
Starring Jessica Biel, Kristen Scott Thomas, Ben Barnes and Colin Firth


Mrs. Whittaker: Smile, Marion.
Marion Whittaker: I don’t feel like smiling.
Mrs. Whittaker: You’re English, dear. Fake it.

You pretty much know from the very start whether EASY VIRTUE will be an easy experience for you or an excruciating one. It opens with a big, bright opening musical number that cuts back and forth between a staged choreography, complete with fans and clam shells and a sepia soaked introduction to Jessica Biel as Larita, the first female race car driver, winning a race and finding the man of her dreams at the finish line. By the time you meet her man, John Whittaker’s (Ben Barnes) eccentric British family at their country home, the ridiculously dramatic tone of the film is completely set. It is forced, exaggerated and awkward. It isn’t until a few scenes later that it becomes apparent that THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT director, Stephan Elliott, is trying to be farcical on purpose. By that time, it hardly even seems to matter.


John has just married Larita without telling his family first and he is bringing his American girl home to meet Mum and Dad. Kristen Scott Thomas plays the matriarch of the household and she will have nothing to do with this American tart waltzing into her home and stealing her baby boy from her. After all, it was up to him to take over the house at some point and Larita being accustomed to life in the fast lane, means she will not be entertaining the notion of living in the country. And so the tug of war between mother and daughter-in-law begins. It isn’t pretty, let me tell you. It also isn’t that interesting. The son they are fighting over is a bit of a spineless drifter, first of all, so he hardly seems worth all the trouble. And then there are the ladies themselves. Thomas, who has been making something of a successful resurgence in the last year, looks as though she may implode at any moment as she frantically rushes about and barks nonsense at everyone. And then there’s Biel, who is clearly trying to improve her standing as a leading lady. She isn’t the presence she needs to be to throw this family into such turmoil and subsequently only half holds our own and our attention. Colin Firth is the only presence that grounds everything. This is primarily because he seems about just as interested in being there as we are.


Elliott never quite seems to get a grasp on how he wants EASY VIRTUE to play out. Once the battle between the ladies is fully on, it finds an acceptable pace but it is still strained. People occasionally sing out of nowhere. Modern songs are repurposed with a big band sound to contemporize the period genre. And he is constantly forcing camera tricks to spice things up but they are entirely transparent. You end up waiting for the only possible conclusion to come and realizing pretty quickly that this film is about as virtuous as it is easy.

MAMMA MIA!

Written by Catherine Johnson
Music by Stig Anderson, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd
Starring Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters and Stellan Skarsgard


Donna: Mamma Mia, here I go again. My, my, how can I resist you?

Let me tell you. Just because I’ve been listening to ABBA almost non-stop since I saw MAMMA MIA! two days ago does not mean I enjoyed the film all that much. It’s just the Swedish pop super group’s music is so darn infectious. You would think that energy would translate to a feel-great good time at the movies but sadly this is not the case. First time feature filmmaker, Phyllida Lloyd, spends far too much time dragging her feet when they should be dancing up and down the beach and no matter how many shots of the moonlight shimmering against the waves there are, the film is still a clunker instead of a stunner.


When a musical is paper thin on the stage, it runs the risk of being just plain silly on the screen. On the stage, MAMMA MIA! is a somewhat justified excuse to revive a bunch of ABBA tracks wrapped into a completely implausible, overly romantic farce. Young Sophie (played on screen by Amanda Seyfried) is but 20 and about to marry the very supportive and very handsome, Sky (Dominic Cooper). Something is missing though. Sophie has lived on this tiny Greek island her entire life and helped run a crumbling hotel with her mother, Donna (Meryl Streep) but she has never met her father. As far as she knows, he left before her mother could say anything to him but a chance encounter with her mother’s diary from the summer of her conception narrows the possible men to three. So rather than talk to her mother about her desire to know where she came from, she invites all three men (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard) to her wedding, pretending to be her mother looking for a reunion. Naturally all three men accept the invite and hijinks ensue. While the campiness of the whole affair is forgiven on stage because the suspension of disbelief doesn’t apply, this screen version is too far removed from the stage to feel the least bit plausible.


I believe in angels, something good in everything I see. And while there is very little good to focus on in MAMMA MIA!, at least there is always the surprising Streep. She jumps up and down on beds, slides down banisters without the least bit of concern for breaking her hip and she can sing too. Much like her turn in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, Streep’s performance as the lonely mother of the bride carries the film forward and, in the show stopping “The Winner Takes It All”, elevates the film to heights it could never have achieved without her participation. Though the two don’t get nearly enough screen time together, Streep and Seyfriend make a great mother/daughter combo. Seyfried’s fresh exuberance seems like it might actually be inherited from her movie mom. The rest of the cast delivers varying results – Julie Walters clearly thinks she is a comic genius but she comes off too brash; Christine Baranski is miscast as an older bombshell making for some particularly awkward moments with younger men; and someone should ensure that Pierce Brosnan never sings on screen again.


Ultimately, MAMMA MIA! never connects all of its components. A melodramatic moment is followed by a peppy ABBA song, which somehow erases everyone’s pain. In that sense, ABBA’s music is the perfect choice to set the tone as it is some of the most depressing pop lyricism set to upbeat melodies in pop history. While the contrast adds weight to the songs themselves, the musical masking casts an air of falseness that never lifts on the film. What your left with is a compilation of poorly choreographed, plainly sung music videos. No offence, Meryl, but you are long past your MTV days.

THEN SHE FOUND ME

Written by Alice Arlen, Victor Levin and Helen Hunt
Directed by Helen Hunt
Starring Helen Hunt, Colin Firth, Matthew Broderick, Ben Shenkman and Bette Midler


April Epner: I want a baby. I can’t explain it. It’s like being hungry or having to pee.

We’ve all had our share of bad weeks and I’ve heard numerous times before that when it rains it pours but yet that still doesn’t seem to account for what happened to April Epner (Helen Hunt). A mere ten months into her marriage to Ben (Matthew Broderick), he decides he made a huge mistake. The next day, she goes to work, a school where she and Ben both taught to primary students, to find that he never showed up and is nowhere to be found. Within the week that follows, her adopted mother (Lynn Cohen) dies and her birth mother (Bette Midler) makes contact with her for the first time. It’s no wonder the bags under April’s eyes are so heavy.


Hunt’s directorial debut, THEN SHE FOUND ME, begins so tragically but attempts then to lighten the mood with awkward comedy and untimely romance. The combination is a bizarre contradiction that just falls flat. It doesn’t feel right to laugh just yet as there hasn’t been time to mourn but we don’t want to mourn either as we only just met these folks. We don’t know how to feel or where to go and neither does the direction of the film. When the dust from April’s disastrous week finally begins to settle, the film finally begins to breathe normally again and finds a particular charm in its decidedly neurotic voice. Still, it is more unsettling than it is satisfying.


While Hunt may be overly sentimental as a director, she finds a certain harshness in her acting style that becomes the film’s most unifying source. As put upon as she is at this juncture in her life, she manages to juggle everything reasonably well by balancing between protecting herself, demanding what she deserves and allowing her defenses down at just the right moments and only to those who deserve entry. The woman deserves happiness, be that in the form of a new love with troubled suitor, Frank (Colin Firth), or by realizing her longtime desire to have a child, but her life only gets continuously more complicated, sometimes by her own doing. I would ordinarily want to hug someone in April’s position but mostly I just wanted to shake her.


What ultimately undermines THEN SHE FOUND ME is its own air of self-loathing. Hunt spends so much time trying to incite sympathy for April by dumping so many hard realities on to her at once but then punishes her when all she has done is try to keep her head above water. It’s hard to feel love for a face on the screen when the woman who put her there hasn’t made up her mind herself.