Best Comeback – Alexander Payne, director of The Holdovers
Director Alexander Payne has no shortage of well-received films, including Election and The Descendants. But the director released his most critically and commercially derided film of all time, Downsizing, in 2017, and hasn’t followed it up until now. One of his most critically-acclaimed films was Sideways, starring Paul Giamatti, so it’s perhaps fitting that his reunion here with Giamatti in The Holdovers also marks his best film in over a decade, and arguably one of the best of his career. Featuring Giamatti as a prep school instructor stuck babysitting the students left behind over the holidays, Payne delivers the kind of slice-of-life dramedy that he can so expertly craft, in a film that feels like his nostalgic unique twist on the Dead Poet Society-style inspirational teacher movie we saw so often in the 80s and 90s.
Biggest Letdown – Alice and Jack
For better or worse, we watched the first two episodes of Alice and Jack without even realizing it was a TV show (this information was buried in the description, but we did miss it). Still, this upcoming series was high on our list of anticipated media because in addition to an excellent cast (Domnhall Gleeson and Andrea Riseborough star), it’s the follow-up effort from director Juho Kuosmanen, who turned heads at TIFF in 2021 with Compartment No. 6, a beautifully-crafted romance film in the same mold as Before Sunrise. Unfortunately, this romantic story has none of Compartment No. 6’s charms. The story (or the first two episodes) are narrated with the same “love is everything” type of optimism and style you’d expect from a Nick Hornsby adaptation, like About a Boy. But the characters that occupy that narrative are constantly motivated by a connection that is never really formed or shown, consistently making horrible decisions and coming across as unlikeable for the majority of its runtime. I like plenty of shows about terrible people, but because Alice and Jack doesn’t feel like it’s supposed to be this kind of story, watching the show is tonally confusing – what should be uplifting is instead maddening.
Best Surprise – Woman of the Hour, dir. Anna Kendrick
A lot of actors tried their hands at directing this year, and the results were pretty mixed. But we did not expect Anna Kendrick’s first directorial effort, Woman of the Hour, to be one of our favorite films of the festival. Both starring and directing in the film, Kendrick provides a unique take on the serial-killer genre. Instead of shadowing a hard boiled detective pursuing the killer, Woman of the Hour is more concerned with the women who encounter him. Eschewing more graphic depictions of violence in favor of the tell-tale moments leading up to the crimes in which the women sense that something is off, Woman of the Hour lives for the moments between the lines.
Best Performance – Ilinca Manolache, Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World
Romanian actress Ilinca Manolache, in one of her first ever major roles, delivered the best performances of any movie we saw at TIFF as Angela, a disaffected gig worker who showcases the ills of capitalism while racing around town in a stick shift, chewing bubble gum and streaming on social media as a disgusting alter ego. Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, from director Radu Jude, clocks in at nearly 3 hours, and for more than 2 hours the camera is on Manolache exclusively as she vacillates between exhaustion, snark, happiness and rage without breaking a sweat. Manolache’s unique energy and vibrancy makes this film work, and we’re excited to see what she does next.
Best Film – The Boy and the Heron, Hayao Miyazaki
Is this hello or goodbye? You can never really tell anymore when it comes to famed Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki, who’s had a number of purported swan songs over the years. Still, it’s been a while since you’ve seen a Miyazaki film like this one, which plays both like a farewell and a greatest hits album. The Boy and the Heron echoes predecessors like Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Princess Mononoke. While the film may feel familiar to Ghibli fans, this breath of fresh air is also a reminder of Miyazaki’s striking originality. If you’re looking for a paint-by-numbers animated film that telegraphs the ups and downs of the story a mile away, look elsewhere. This film twists and turns in ways you’d least expect. Though it doesn’t work too hard to conjure emotional reactions, The Boy and the Heron that will sneak up on you when you least expect it. A pleasure to see, and easily our favorite of the festival.