by Nathaniel R
We've given TIFF two days to settle and it's time to pass out awards (they're invisible but real to us) as we are prone to do and because we must move on --though we have two reviews in progress so they'll pop up soon and we'll be sure to return to some of these films soon as they emerge in movie theaters. Herewith personal favourite things from the 29 films devoured at TIFF. I got sick during the last few days so as medicinal comfort I'm allowing myself ties (gasp!) and lots and lots of categories. Ready? Here we go.
Best Film: Parasite (second runner up for the People's Choice prize)
Best Director: Bong Joon-ho, Parasite
Best Screenplay: Celine Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Best Adapted Screenplay: Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood...
Best Actor: [TIE] Adam Driver, Marriage Story / Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Best Actress: Carice Van Houten, Instinct
Best Supporting Actor: Tracy Letts, Ford v Ferrari
Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Best Ensemble: Parasite
Special 'Happiest to See Them In a Movie Again' Prize: Julie Hagerty, Marriage Story (playing Scarlett's mom)
Best Debut Performance: Tom Mercier, Synonyms
Best Child Performance: Roman Griffin Davis, JoJo Rabbit
Best Cameo Performance: [TIE] Merrit Wever, Marriage Story / Sally Rogers, Hope Gap / Fernanda Montenegro, The Invisible Life of...
Best Cinematography: [TIE] The Lighthouse / Ema
Best Production Design: Parasite
Best Costume Design: Harriet
Best Film Editing: Parasite
Best Music: Ema
Best Makeup & Hair: [TIE] JoJo Rabbit / Harriet
Best Sound Mixing: Ford v Ferrari
Best Sound Editing: Ford v Ferrari
Best Visual Effects: The Aeronauts
Funniest Comedy: JoJo Rabbit
Funniest Movie: Marriage Story
Silliest Accents (Purposeful): everyone in JoJo Rabbit
Silliest Accent (Purposeful ??): Daniel Craig in Knives Out
Most Blatant Yet Likeable Use of Plot as Metaphor: [TIE] The Platform (entire film) / Knives Out (ending)
Most Confusing Yet Still Somehow Riveting Plot: Saturday Fiction
Best Dog: "Posey" in The Aeronauts
Best Cat: lost grey kitten in Weathering With You (runner up: many horny cats in No 7 Cherry Lane)
Best Musical Sequence: Cast (twin Sondheim numbers) Marriage Story
Best Kiss: Noémie Merlant & Adèle Haenel, Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Sexiest Sex Scene: Noémie Merlant & Adèle Haenel, Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Funniest Sex Scene: Carol Duarte & ???, Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao
Craziest Sex Scene: Animated characters, No 7 Cherry Lane
Best Gratuitous Sex Scene(s): Mariana di Girolama & cast, Ema
Most Disturbing Sex Scene(s): Carice van Houten & Marwan Kenzari/Pieter Embrechts, Instinct
Best Gratuitous Nudity: Tom Mercier, Synonyms
Best Narrative Use of Nudity: César Vicente, Pain & Glory
Most 'Actressexual' Activism: No 7 Cherry Lane's obsession with Simone Signoret
Best Single 'Actressexual' Moment: Adèle Haenel doing Meryl Streep's French Lieutenant's Woman entrance in Portait of a Lady on Fire.
Best Credits: Knives Out
Best Opening Scene: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Best Ending: Pain & Glory
And 7 More Beautiful Things Witnessed and Not Mentioned Above
- Scarlett Johansson finally in challenging films / roles again and being predictably wonderful (Marriage Story + JoJo Rabbit).
- The incredible weather & effects animation of Weathering With You.
- Chino Darín's comic inability to pretend to be good with plants while posing as a gardener in the elaborate heist of Heroic Losers
- Gong Li and Marc Chao embracing in the shadows of Saturday Fiction
- Toni Collette's Goop-shade in Knives Out.
- The climactic mirror shot in Atlantics
- Eva Green's fluency: Russian, German, English, and French all in one film (Proxima)? She spoils us.
Apologies to the 6 other films I saw that weren't mentioned in these quickie prizes which somehow managed to honor the other 23. Those films were: Disco, A White White Day (which I really liked but couldn't find a place to honor), Personal History of David Copperfield (quite funny if a bit exhausting), Wet Season, Bombay Rose, and My Zoe.