9-10-03
The fest is now officially lurching on into its final days, and it's
usually around this time that I start to cave to my innate desire for
sleep by skipping a movie here and there.
Which is precisely what I did this morning (as per yesterday's portents
of moviegoing doom).
I did not make it out to my 9am screening of Twist, a modern-day
retelling of the "Oliver Twist" story that stars Nick Stahl and
uses young male prostitutes for characters instead of pickpockets.
Instead, I used the time to sleep in, have a decent breakfast and take
my camera to the Uptown theatre to snap some pictures inside and out
before it's gone. The staff even let me go into Uptown 1 between
screenings to take photos of its magnificence. I feel a little better
knowing that I've at least captured the cinema for posterity.
I'm also delighted to report that Toni Collette showed up for
the early-afternoon repeat screening of her wonderful new film,
Japanese Story. Normally, celebs are nowhere to seen once the
flashbulbs and red carpets of their movies' premiere screenings are
over (read: no way are they getting up early for a bunch of nobodys!)
but, much to the geniune surprise of the audience, Toni popped in to
say hi (along with director Sue Brooks) before immediately
heading to the airport to catch a flight. This meant no Q&A afterwards,
which was too bad since the film deserved some discussion.
The story follows an Australian geologist (Collette), who's assigned to
take a Japanese businessman (Gotaro Tsunashima) to check out her
company's mining territories. Their trip takes all kinds of unexpected
turns, though, once they decide to explore the Outback on their own.
Toni Collette was fabulous, as usual, in a role that offers her a great
emotional arc to play. But my absolute favorite thing about this movie
was the fact that it defied convention and, a little more than halfway
through, had a fantastic plot twist that took the film in a completely
new direction AND deftly helped it avoid becoming just another
opposites-attract story. When the twist was approaching, I actually sat
in my seat thinking to myself, "You know, I wish they'd take a chance
and have *this* happen instead of *that*, which ALWAYS happens in
movies like this." And it did! It did a complete 180! It was wonderful!
It so nice to have a movie legitimately surprise you with where it
goes. Kewl.
I followed up that film with the sweet comedy-drama Cheeky,
written, directed and starring David Thewlis. Here, Thewlis plays a
husband and father coping with the sudden death of his wife, and how
her absence is affecting their son. When he gets word that, just before
her death, she signed him up to appear on a ridiculously nutty British
game show called "Cheeky" (where contestants answer trivia questions
and then try to out-insult one another for points), he decides to
follow through with her wishes as a way of giving her one last laugh.
Skillfully walking the line between slapstick and tearjerker, the movie
possessed just the right amount of both to create a perfect blend.
But, really, may I just make one request? I think I've had enough now
of movies where one of the central themes is someone dying. I've never
cried this much at a film festival ever before!
Happily, I ended the day with the wild and wonderful Irish ensemble
drama/crime thriller/comedy Intermission and didn't shed a
single tear. The film is about a group of Irish lads and lasses whose
lives kind of implode into mayhem, violence and ensuing hijinks.
Colin Farrell, Kelly Macdonald, Colm Meaney and Cillian Murphy (28
Days Later) are among the co-stars who bring the clever, witty
script to life. It's fast, frenetic and loads of fun, and both
Macdonald (sporting a strange black bandage on her right leg) and
Meaney turned up for the screening. The Q&A afterwards was kind of
lacking, though.
Three more fest days to go. I think I feel my second wind coming...
And, since she enjoys seeing her name within these pages: hi Angela!
;-)
CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS: Toni Collette, Colm Meaney, Kelly Macdonald
ROGER EBERT SIGHTINGS: In a word, no. This is the last time this year
that this heading will even appear. See ya next year, Rog'!
LINE BUZZ: Positive reactions to Evil (which I'm seeing
tomorrow) and (again) Kitchen Stories. Plus, the news that
William H. Macy dropped trou onstage during the introductions at
the screening of his film, The Cooler (which I'm seeing on
Saturday).
— Vickie
