LEGENDS OF THE FALL

VENICE & TIFF Five essential films from this year’s fall festival season.

HIT MAN

Richard Linklater’s out-ofcompetition romcom with murder was the audience-pleaser Venice delegates didn’t know they needed, and confirmed the star wattage of lead Glen Powell. Frothy, smart, witty and sexy, the zingy script co-written by Linklater and Powell provided psychological and philosophical musings alongside daft disguises and romantic entanglements that played like a 90s gem. One of four hitman films to hit the fest (Fincher’s The Killer, Korine’s Aggro Dr1Ft, Lorenz’s In the Land of Saints and Sinners), Linklater’s is the movie that truly slayed.

FERRARI

One of the few films that had strike agreements for its cast to attend the Lido, Michael Mann’s study of the titular Italian racing-car designer at a business/ personal crossroads in 1957 boasted Adam Driver bringing his House of Gucci accent back, hot-rod road battles and a horrific crash scene. Like Ferrari’s motors, the production is sleek, expensivelooking and runs handsomely. But Mann’s film takes time to run the tyres in, only really reaching top gear in its second half, and it lacks a certain something under the hood to really make it fly.

MAESTRO

Nose-gate aside, Bradley Cooper’s portrait of the marriage between Leonard Bernstein (Cooper) and Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan) over four decades is pure awards bait. Venice was the gongs starting point for Tár last year and it’s likely Cooper’s shifting ratio, stagey, long-takes, vivid love letter to music and soulmates will follow a similar tempo. Worth seeing for a masterclass scene set in a Manhattan apartment at Thanksgiving alone; a verbal opera as melodic as any of Bernstein’s works and showcasing two performers at their very best. Encore!

WOMAN OF THE HOUR

One of several films by an actor-turned-director at TIFF, Anna Kendrick’s debut was snapped up by Netflix. Don’t be fooled by the kooky premise, based on the true story of a serial killer who appeared on The Dating Game (the US Blind Date) in the 70s - while not without fun moments, this tense true-crimer spotlights various different ways in which women must negotiate male toxicity. Kendrick also stars as ‘bachelorette’ Cheryl Bradshaw, while Daniel Zovatto chills as prolific predator Rodney Alcala. Avoid reading up on the real story until you’ve seen it.

THE BOY AND THE HERON

Hayao Miyazaki’s final feature (well, maybe) was a runnerup for TIFF’s coveted People’s Choice award. The Studio Ghibli animation is very much in keeping with their classic themes: here, 12-year-old Mahito moves to the countryside after the death of his mother during the Pacific War. There he meets the titular bird, who directs him towards a fantasy realm that promises a maternal reunion. That there are autobiographical elements only make it all the more poignant as a (possible) Miyazaki swansong.