Here's a dream of a directors lineup sent in to AICN from the Toronto Film Fest. What a triple feature; Waters, Boorman, and Welles. Our agent's report has all of us at Geek Headquarters green with envy. Don't forget festival goers send in your reports ASAP!
A first time reviewer here reporting on the first three movies I've seen here at the Toronto film festival. These reviews are not that detailed so I'll just cut right to the chase...
On Friday the first movie I saw was John Waters' Pecker. This movie stars Edward Furlong as Pecker, who becomes famous among the New York art elite for his pictures of the people in his native Baltimore, and how these pictures effect all those around him. This movie was simply hilarious, and surprisingly had very little of the disgusting imagery Waters is associated with. This is probably Waters' most conventional movie, but lets face it no John Waters movie is actually conventional in the normal sense of the word. The aspect of this movie that really makes it worth seeing is that underneath all the humor (everybody was laughing when I saw it) there is really a sweet, soft hearted center, like in There's Something about Mary.
Well for the actors Edward Furlong was great as Pecker, though it did get a bit annoying in the very beginning when Pecker keeps taking pictures but you get used to it. The rest of the actors in this movie were just as good with Brendon Sexton III as Pecker's best friend a particular standout, and Christina Ricci furthering her quest for some type of film critics award at the end of the year with her hilarious portrayal of Pecker's laundry obsessed girlfriend.
All in all, This was probably my favorite comedy of the year so far (yes I can't believe it but I liked it more than There's Something about Mary). After the movie John Waters came on but really didn't say anything exciting.
From Pecker I went to see the new John Boorman picture The General, for which I believe he won best director at Cannes. This movie is mostly a drama but there are quite a few comedic moments that add to the enjoyment of this film. This movie follows the story of Irish gangster Martin Cahill, a.k.a. The General, from his days as a small time thief to when he had his own gang and took down scores that were worth millions, all the while showing his distaste for all forms of authority. In the end he was killed by the I.R.A. for seemingly supporting some British Loyalists.
This movie was filmed in Black and White to great effect. Boorman takes advantage of this by using shadows and light in ways that they couldn't be used in color.
Brendan Gleeson is the actor that portrays Cahill, and being completely unfamiliar with the actor I didn't know what to expect, but he was very good. And he had to be good, since he is in all but one scene. He makes Cahill rise above the sociopath he appears to be to a sympathetic character. Quite a few people were even crying for his inevitable murder ( we see it in the first and last scene with one subtle difference that makes the movie).
Among the supporting characters Adrian Dunbar is good as his second in command and the women that play his two lovers are also good. To me however I thought the best supporting character was Jon Voight. In the beginning I thought that it was weird that he chose Voight to play Kenny, the head of the Irish task force out to get him, but he pulls off a half decent Irish accent. And there is a scene late in the movie between he and Gleeson when Kenny realizes no one will win in the end, no matter what happens because the cops have had to sink to Cahill's level to get him.
As far as the movies I've seen this year it, Saving Private Ryan, and Out of Sight had the best direction, and John Boorman deserves the award before Speilberg. I know that is a big claim but see the movie, then agree with me.
Lastly, but not leastly by far was the Touch of Evil re-edit. It follows the same story, but is twelve minutes shorter, and there are none of the moralizing scenes of the original. This makes for a much more cohesive and streamlined story.
The highlight of the afternoon itself was not the movie however, but the fact that Janet Leigh herself showed up to see the movie. She got a standing ovation upon entering and she started to cry, it was a great moment. She commented that Welles was an actors dream, and that part of the reason she supported the re-edit was that Wellles' legend should live on properly, or something to that respect.
Well I gotta go as I'm seeing Very Bad Things at 9AM, and Claire Dolan at 12:30. As I've never reviewed before call me Jack Walsh if you use this.
