Black Sheep previews TIFF 2012

It's finally arrived! For cinephiles in North America, the Toronto International Film Festival is without question, the film event of the year. Some dread the crazy hours and constant running around while others panic at the sheer idea of choosing from nearly 300 feature films. Some people clamour to catch the premium screenings, that bring the stars and the people together under one roof, while others let the festival programmers choose their own adventure over the course of 10 days. Whether you're all about the movies, the stars or the numerous related events happening throughout the city, there is something at TIFF for everyone, including me.

I will begin my TIFF experience this year with Jason Reitman's live table read of my third favourite film of all time, AMERICAN BEAUTY, at Ryerson Theatre. Reitman, the director of JUNO and UP IN THE AIR has staged similar table reads in the past, featuring random actors reading parts from famous films. Past examples include Paul Rudd and Emma Stone in THE APARTMENT or Seth Rogen in THE BIG LEBOWSKI. None of the main roles have been announced yet for this particular read but thus far, Adam Driver (from HBO's GIRLS) and Canada's own Sarah Gadon (ANTIVIRAL)  have been confirmed for the roles of Ricky Fitts and Angela. Reitman himself, a former Ryerson student, reads the stage direction. Needless to say, I am thrilled to be kicking TIFF12 off with this incredible event.

Reitman, waiting to stage THE BIG LEBOWSKI

I then have 20 films booked over the next nine days. I am not accredited to cover the festival in any official capacity this year so I kept my first weekend pretty light, just in case interview opportunities arise. The first weekend usually welcomes the bigger stars so if there are interviews to be had, this is when you want to have them. At the moment, I have only booked one interview, with Brandon Cronenberg, but I'm sure a few more will come in soon. In the meantime, I was able to catch somewhere around 20 films in pre-festival press screenings, so I will have plenty of film advice to pass on to you throughout the festival.

The plan at the moment, is to publish 25 reviews between September 6 and September 16. You can expect reviews for the following films:

AMOUR (shown)

Directed by Michael Haneke

ANNA KARENINA

Directed by Joe Wright

ANTIVIRAL

Directed by Brandon Cronenberg

THE COMPANY YOU KEEP

Directed by Robert Redford

DREDD 3D

Directed by Pete Travis

END OF WATCH (shown)

Directed by David Ayer

FINDING NEMO 3D

Directed by Andrew Stanton

FOXFIRE: CONFESSIONS ON A GIRL GANG

Directed by Laurent Cantet

FRANCES HA

Directed by Noah Baumbach

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Directed by Mike Newell

THE ICEMAN (shown)

Directed by Ariel Vroman

THE IMPOSSIBLE

Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona

HYDE PARK ON HUDSON

Directed by Roger Michell

LAURENCE ANYWAYS
Directed by Xavier Dolan

LOOPER (Opening night film)

Directed by Rian Johnson

ON THE ROAD (shown)

Directed by Walter Salles

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

Directed by Stephen Chbosky

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES
Directed by Derek Cianfance

RUST AND BONE

Directed by Jacques Audiard

THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Directed by David O. Russell

SONG FOR MARION (Closing night selection, shown)

Directed by Paul Andrew Williams 

STORIES WE TELL

Directed by Sarah Polley

TO THE WONDER

Directed by Terrence Malick

THE WE AND THE I

Directed by Michel Gondry

WEST OF MEMPHIS

Directed by Amy Berg

There are a few choice titles missing from the list like ARGO, CLOUD ATLAS, and THE PAPERBOY. I am seeing these but I'm only catching them later in the festival so there won't be any time to review them.

On that note, there are still a couple of films I have yet to secure tickets for. If anyone out there has an extra ticket to THE MASTER on Sunday the 16th or THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES on Saturday the 8th, please get in touch with me. I would really like to see these films during the festival and am willing to negotiate a fair exchange for them.

I will be tweeting throughout the festival so be sure to follow @blacksheeprevs if you don't already. And if you happen to be attending the festival and you see that we're going to be at some of the same screenings or what not, get in touch, let me know and maybe we can catch a flick or have a drink.

 Black Sheep's TIFF12 reviews start tomorrow with LOOPER, RUST AND BONE and DREDD 3D. Have an awesome TIFF everybody!

For more information of TIFF12, visit the festival website at tiff.net.

Young Adult

Young Adult, 2011
Directed by Jason Reitman

Young Adult tells a story about that girl we all hated in high school. That really mean one, but somehow she's still popular. Okay, I've never really met anyone like her, but we've all seen Mean Girls, and various other American High School movies. This is the story of that girl, all grown up, except she hasn't really grown up at all. Mavis Gary is stuck in the past. She writes young adult fiction, she wears Uggs and sweat pants, and only tries to look good when she's going out at night. After receiving an email from her high school ex-boyfriend Buddy, that he and his wife are now parents, Mavis decides to return to Mercury, Minnesota (her hometown & where Buddy lives) and to try and get him back.

Initially, watching the trailer, I thought this movie would be awesomely hilarious, and that Charlize Theron would give a super awesome performance, and it would be unique. I was partly right about this thinking. This film was way less funny than I imagined it was going to be, but I don't consider this a bad thing.

Mavis Gary is a complex person. She's stuck in the past, filled with bitterness and regret. She longs to be back in high school where she was still hooking up with all the guys, picking on all the girls, and just loving life and being popular. Mavis seemed to learn the hard way that the way you live in high school just doesn't cut it in the real world. Eventually you need to grow up and become a real person. And that's something Mavis never seemed to learn. She's still the mean girl, who flirts with other people's husbands, is rude to people she doesn't know, and drinks whenever she can.

Charlize Theron really knocks it out of the park in this movie. She's everything we all hate in those mean girls, and we feel so little sympathy for her. She's mean, she's vain, and she's slightly crazy. Really, she's still that mean girl, still a teenager, and not ready to grow up. Charlize hits all the right notes with Mavis.

Many people have compared Bridemaids' Annie (Kristen Wiig) to Young Adult's Mavis (Charlize Theron). They are similar characters in various ways. They're both filled with bitterness, lash out at others, and are just extremely immature and mean. But Mavis is definitely the winner in this character contest. Mavis is over the top and mean, whereas Annie is just bitter and spiteful. Mavis pushes the boundaries everywhere she can whereas Annie only seems to toe the line in comparison.

Now, I can't forget Patton Oswalt. Oswalt plays Matt, a boy Mavis had a locker next to in high school. He got beat up in the woods by jocks because they thought he was gay. They smashed his leg with a crowbar, and he's never walked the same since. Matt is the exact opposite of everything Mavis is. Matt is in a crappy situation but he doesn't complain, and he accepts what he's been dealt in life. Mavis is in a pretty good place, being beautiful and having made it out of Mercury, yet she constantly complains about everything around her.  Patton Oswalt plays Matt with such a sympathy, yet with a hint of humor. He's a nice guy, and Patton Oswalt plays him quite well.

While I really enjoyed the performances, I felt the story could've had way more to offer. The end and the solution came all too quickly, and didn't offer very much. We'd constantly see Mavis pulling out bits of her hair, talking about depression, etc, and nothing seemed to come of these possible outcomes. The ending was quite dissatisfying. Additionally, I'd have loved to seen more of Mavis with old high school friends, instead of just with Matt, or with Buddy. It'd have been interesting to see how her old clique had grown up, maturing, unlike Mavis.

However, it was still quite an enjoyable film, and it's a big shame Charlize didn't get nearly as much attention for her role as Mavis than she deserved. I'd have loved to see an Oscar nomination for this quirky part, but alas.

7/10

YOUNG ADULT

YOUNG ADULT
Written by Diablo Cody
Directed by Jason Reitman
Starring Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt and Patrick Wilson

Buddy Slade: Mavis, I’m a married man.
Mavis Gary: I know. We can beat this thing together.

Mavis Gary (the always stunning, Charlize Theron) wakes up, it would seem, most days face down in her pillow, still wearing her makeup and heels from the previous night of debauchery. When she comes to, she immediately reaches for the nearest 2L bottle of Diet Coke she can find to give her the jolt she needs to get on with her day. After high school, she promptly exited her hick town, Mercury, in favor or the mini-apple, Minneapolis, to pursue a once thriving career in ghost writing young adult fiction. At 37 years old, Mavis is hardly young like the characters she writes about and knows best but after spending five minutes with her in Jason Reitman’s latest film, YOUNG ADULT, you’ll see that calling her adult is sometimes an even bigger stretch.

If you pointed out what a mess she was, I seriously doubt Mavis would know what you were talking about. Actually, given the amount of attitude she usually carries in her demeanor, I’m thinking she would probably punch you in the face for the suggestion. As constructed by Diablo Cody, who last collaborated with Reitman on the contemporary classic, JUNO, Mavis is quite simply unlikable and Theron is perfectly cast in the part. She is strikingly beautiful and therefore has always had an easy time getting what she wants but despite her soft features, she is about as callous as they come. Theron is unapologetic as Mavis, determined in her resolve no matter how misguided it is and no matter whom she takes down along the way. Yet she still reveals enough of that once young adult inside of her to give the audience some insight into how she came to be this person.

Compared to past Reitman films, like UP IN THE AIR and THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, YOUNG ADULT is by far his prickliest pear. It’s humour is decidedly darker in tone and it isn’t easy to forgive his heroine her actions, regardless what damage inspired them. Mavis returns home under the guise of a real estate transaction to essentially “save” her college boyfriend (Patrick Wilson) from his supposed death trap of a marriage despite his first child just being born. (In fact, the baby is the catalyst for her decision.) In doing so, the high school prom queen befriends the hapless high school loser (an endearing and impressive, Patton Oswalt) and the two form an unlikely friendship that holds a mirror up to both of their issues. Their chemistry is so unexpected and natural that it gives YOUNG ADULT exactly what it needs to mature into the film it was always meant to be - a modern exploration of how growing up can be a lifelong process.

453. Young Adult

453. (01 Nov) Young Adult (2011, Jason Reitman)* 59