by Takis Garis (@takisgaris)
The #TIFF13 Connection: Take 3
Amazing day. It kicked in like healing water after Friday’s overall (save Don Jon) disappointment. In a six hour back -to- back sit, a storm of sights for sore eyes came on to me. Twelve Years A Slave, Dallas Buyers Club and Gravity. That’s their screening sequence, albeit I am pretty sure that their hierarchical order in terms of critical reception should be otherwise, at least in two different ways, for both my fellow reviewers and me. It’s been evident since Telluride that Slave and Gravity are neck to neck racing to claim Best Picture Oscar as sure fire frontrunners. A double bill of diametrically disparate film making styles, where Steve McQueen uses unflinchingly stark, on occasion meticulously static images to convey unadulterated harsh emotions, of pain, shame and despair. In contrast, Alfonso Quaron, carrying the torch since dystopian futuristic Children of Men, explores the outer space as an almighty force to reckon, invincible, majestic in a myriad, lethal notwithstanding, ways. For McQueen, man is man’s worst enemy. For Quaron, the creation (manmade or not) itself is perilous and fearsome.
Either way, I was gut wrenched by Slave’s pristine un-holiness, the dog-eat-dog slavery conceit, used by white man to extort black man’s dignity and inflict indelible scars to body and soul. Chiwetel Ejiofor, a fine British actor that exceled almost a decade ago in Dirty Pretty Things, is perfectly cast as Solomon Northup, a free upstate New York citizen who is abducted and turned into slave for 12 years, a true story of brutal injustice, where the perpetrators were never convicted due to (back in 1850’s) lack of a competent judicial system for black people. His eyes tormented, he’s an intelligent and compassionate human being in the hands of a drunk, heinous owner, Michael Fassbender who undeniably packs a great deal of gravitas, amongst a superlative cast (Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brad Pitt who share a producing credit and the heartbreaking Lupita Nyong’o as the rape victim of Edwin Epps (Fassbender’s character) in a breakthrough performance. Undoubtedly 12 Years A Slave could work as the black response on a par with a sprawling Schindler’s List epic scale, although I sense that it might annoy several Academy Members with its relentless depiction of torture.
Gravity is justifiably branded as the epigone of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey for it showcases a visual grandeur that transports the viewer right up there, in orbit, hovering over the stars, where the only friend is silence and the real villain is gravity. Alfonso Quaron & son have constructed the ultimate space thriller in real time, with essentially two A’ listers of the most crowd appeal. George Clooney is the about to retire astronaut, slick and knowledgeable in equal doses and Sandra Bullock fascinates as the introvert medical engineer in her introductory mission. An accident leaves them adrift in space where no one seems to be there to save them. If you ever felt lonely in the universe check this brilliant film (best of the year thus far) out. Blown away will take another meaning, be (un)safe about it. A technical wonder by any standard, Gravity will play big in the Oscars this year.
Gravity is justifiably branded as the epigone of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey for it showcases a visual grandeur that transports the viewer right up there, in orbit, hovering over the stars, where the only friend is silence and the real villain is gravity. Alfonso Quaron & son have constructed the ultimate space thriller in real time, with essentially two A’ listers of the most crowd appeal. George Clooney is the about to retire astronaut, slick and knowledgeable in equal doses and Sandra Bullock fascinates as the introvert medical engineer in her introductory mission. An accident leaves them adrift in space where no one seems to be there to save them. If you ever felt lonely in the universe check this brilliant film (best of the year thus far) out. Blown away will take another meaning, be (un)safe about it. A technical wonder by any standard, Gravity will play big in the Oscars this year.
Here comes the unseen surprise. I never thought that Dallas Buyers Club would trump my shock-and-awe impression caused by the aforementioned formidable film duo. Well, I should think twice because the most underappreciated of all actors, Matthew MacConaughey has definitely pulled the trick AGAIN. Lost tons of weight, almost unrecognizable, sporting a stache and ridiculous 80s hairdo, he is an homophobe smelly electrician turned into the most gracious type of drug dealer, after diagnosed with AIDS, given only 30 days to live. In the Reagan era where lethal AZT dosage and FDA indifference killed thousands of HIV positive patients, mostly gay people, that unsung son of a bitch hero fought the system and despite constant tribulations somehow (almost) overturned it. Anecdotally funny flip side to How to Survive A Plaque, Dallas Buyers Club is enthralling also due to Jared Leto’s acting resurrection as Rayon, a AIDS dying trans who shutters the screen with queer bravado and dramatic nuance. Mind you, there’s no finer acting around to be found than here. Matt’s chances are tripled (Mud, The Wolf of Wall Street) for 2013 Oscars thus he’s the only lock for any category, although I would say likewise for Jared. Canadian J.M. Vallee (C.R.A.Z.Y.) has created a highly entertaining film for a grim subject, despite lack of enough depth and one-sidedness as it pertains to the scientific aspects of his story.
The Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom screening, (following the immensely jammed venues that led to announcement of extra press and industry screenings) was abruptly interrupted thirty minutes in, but a new time was almost instantly scheduled same day, showing resilience as many of TIFF’s virtues. As expected, Idris Elba playing iconic South African patriarch leader Nelson Mandela proved himself a force of nature, penetratingly magnetic and captivatingly honest. Naomie Harris (Skyfall) is alluring as the ambiguous Winnie Mandela in a lavish production that emanates directly from the Gandhi-ish pool of biopics. Director Justin Chadwick (The Other Boleyn Girl) doesn’t avoid heroic excesses in moments of bloated grandeur yet Mandela finds a voice in Elba, a fact that might cash out in awards mention for this talented late bloomer actor.
Last and, alas, least comes Labor Day, a mellowed departure from Jason Reitman, breaking a winning streak of amusingly sardonic takes on human behaviour of Oscar calibre quality such as Juno and Up In the Air. One could see the melancholy banging on the door since his latest, Young Adult, although Labor Day is by no means a comedy, but rather an unlikely family bonding drama, between a divorced mom (the effortlessly enthralling Cate Winslet), her teenage son (Gattlin Grifith) and an escaped convict (Josh Brolin who ought to find a role that envelops his real life surprisingly sweet and funny side). There is chemistry but the indirect attempt at crime thriller by Reitman is not convincingly effective but rather slow burn, harlequin – style material that will probably seek refuge at a Women’s channel matinee. The audience reaction, with director and primary cast present was gaudily friendly, as the vibrant Q&A that followed ratified once more the special bond between Jason and Canada, particularly TIFF.
gaRis
