The TIFF 2024 Final Dispatch

With most of the major festivals behind us and the Fall movie season in full swing, a quick jaunt through a selection of yet-to-go-wide films screened at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival so you can start building those future watchlists:

Bonjour Tristesse, Courtesy of TIFF

Oversaturation has made navigating the post-apocalyptic survival piece a bit of a minefield of stale tropes and blunt metaphors, but first-time writer-director R.T. Thorne nimbly avoids most of the dangers with 40 Acres. Confidently stylish and narratively exciting, Thorne makes good use of steady hands Danielle Deadwyler and Michael Greyeyes to anchor a tension-filled thriller in family dynamics and themes that feel fresh without being overly dynamic. Though there’s some expected unevenness across the rest of the cast and through Thorne’s script, the film stands as a pleasant surprise and a jolt of life into the genre.

Speaking of overplayed genres, the state of the historical costume drama is such that it strikes me as a small miracle that Nick Hamm’s new take on Swiss folk hero William Tell didn’t end up as a disposable 8-hour prestige streaming series. Yes, there are still some of the eyerolling modern tendencies (including a laughably bad attempt at a sequel set-up in the last few minutes), but for the most part those decisions are outweighed by sturdy and at times surprising filmmaking — languid pacing, visceral violence, and even dialogue in quasi-verse give this adaptation a comforting “we don’t make ‘em like this anymore” quality that makes for a solid and satisfying big-screen experience.

Claes Bang pulled double duty at the festival, starring as the titular William Tell and playing a key supporting role in the small but stellar cast of a fresh adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s 1954 novel Bonjour Tristesse. Led by star Lily McInerny, the debut of writer-director Durga Chew-Bose conjures a tactile sense of sun-dappled memory while layering in unflinching reminders of the dangers — literal and metaphorical — of trying to hold on to youthful summer fantasy as the reality of maturation encroaches. Patient and prying, the film operates both above and below the surface all the way through to an ending that sticks with you long after the credits roll.

All We Imagine as Light, Courtesy of TIFF

There may be a similar intent behind The Fire Inside, the directorial debut of acclaimed cinematographer Rachel Morrison, and the third act reveals where the film’s true interests lie in telling the story of boxing gold-medalist Claressa Shields. But the shift in focus comes lates, and makes the narrative on either end feel rushed and anticlimactic, leaving us with a well-crafted but disappointingly generic feature — it dabbles in some cliches while avoiding others, but never quite finds a satisfactory balance despite the always-welcome presence of Brian Tyree Henry and a sturdy starring turn from relative newcomer Ryan Destiny.

Yet another narrative feature debut, Sandhya Suri comes out of the gate strong with Santosh. A character study and societal interrogation wrapped up in the guise of a police procedural, the film's strengths lie equally in its sharply drawn details — courtesy Suri’s keen eye and smart script — and in the face of star Shahana Goswami, who bears the responsibility of leading us through the intricate interior conflict of a woman who yearns for respect and gradually comes to realize the cost. Though the film threatens to lose steam on occasion, in the end it’s undeniably effective.

Of all the films here, the one that has lingered most — and thus risen the most in my estimation — is Cannes Grand Prix winner All We Imagine as Light, the first narrative feature from Payal Kapadia. Beautifully shot by Ranabir Das and featuring excellent performances from Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha (though the former is a true standout, achingly moving), it’s a quiet and intimate piece, befitting the nature of a film whose characters strive to find peace amidst one of the planet’s most densely populated cities. As such, one must be willing to succumb to the leisurely narrative approach to fully appreciate the eventual catharsis, but the rewards are well worth the patience.

Millers in Marriage, Courtesy of TIFF

On the flip side, patience will only get you so far with Samuel Van Grinsven’s Went Up the Hill, which starts promisingly enough but quickly settles into a stuporous narrative. There’s an intriguing supernatural premise afoot here, one that in the early goings even raises the possibility that this ghost story might set itself apart from the slew of contemporary trauma-focused horror that has been so in vogue the last several years. But alas, despite the efforts of Vicky Krieps and Dacre Montgomery, the two-hander flounders and falters as it sinks into a disappointingly repetitive cycle.

I had hoped that The Quiet Ones could build on the promise of Frederik Louis Hviid’s previous effort, Enforcement, but unfortunately the pitfalls carry over just as substantially. On the surface, this ripped-from-the-headlines film has all the pieces of a satisfying heist thriller — pulse-pounding pace, detailed planning minutiae, earsplitting gunshots, obstacles to be overcome by master criminals. But characterization falls flat, failing to impart enough motivation to care about whether our robbers succeed. As in Hviid’s prior work, the fatal flaw is apparent: technical prowess can only get you so far, and a lack of a clear emotional hook — positive or negative — caps your ceiling.

A more pleasant surprise can be found with Millers in Marriage — if you squint a little bit, Edward Burns’ latest turn as writer-director and actor might just help some of us survive Nancy Meyers’ near-decade-long hiatus. Less polished in execution but similarly interested in the messy realities of (wealthy) adult relationships, the film is a bittersweet but easy to fall for ensemble piece that makes the most of a rock-solid veteran cast: though some may be hamming it up a little more than necessary (apologies to Patrick Wilson), the screen presence of the likes of Minnie Driver and Benjamin Bratt are a welcome sight.