An anonymous buyer whose judgment is usually on-target has shared the following about some Toronto Film Festival entries that are up for grabs, or were up for grabs until recently:
Richard Linklater‘s Me and Orson Welles: So-so. The first half drags a bit too much. Christian McKay gives an incredible performance as Orson Welles but it’s not enough to save the film.
Davis Guggenheim‘s It Might Get Loud: A fun rockumentary. Sure to enjoy a long life on DVD and TV.
Lance Daly‘s Kisses: Dark, gloomy, and a bit fucked-up for a movie about two kids spending a night on the mean streets of Dublin. Could have been so much better…
Darren Aronofsky‘s The Wrestler: Great, fantastic and downright sublime, although it will be a very tough to sell to the immature (pathetically so) U.S. movieger. Fox Searchlight was the perfect choice to distribute. Hopefully, it will enjoy a bountiful Oscar run.
Richard Eyre‘s The Other Man: A disaster. The biggest cinematic trainwreck of the festival. It had so much potential but the last act is one of the worst pieces of garbage ever assembled on-screen.
New York, I Love You (anthology film, many directors): Very cute and funny. The best segments belong to Brett Ratner (a nice surprise) and Yvan Attal.
Stephan Elliott‘s Easy Virtue: Surprisingly not bad. A bit of editing in the first act could turn this one into a potential surprise hit. Jessica Biel‘s performance is — no kidding — a comedic revelation.