#TIFF2018 Diaries: Days Nine & Ten

It’s the end of the festival! I feel like I didn’t do nearly enough, see nearly enough, absorb nearly enough, but I had an amazing time and I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll be invited back next year so I can do it all again. Until then, the last three films I saw this year:

FRIDAY

GREEN BOOK: This movie is going to win SO MANY AWARDS and I’m going to be mad about it the entire time. While the performances from the leads are genuinely stellar, the politics are literal garbage and I just know white people are going to lap them up because it will allow them to excuse their own insidious everyday racism. This is The Help but for bromance. It’s reverse Driving Miss Daisy. It’s The BlindSide but with dudes. It’s going to be an awards season contender.

THE LIE: I’m so glad that I made the time to see this Canadian film. I’ve always loved a good thriller but this film brought a twist I wasn’t expecting and completely blew my mind, even though I suspected at the conclusion. It is incredibly well acted and expertly conveys the desperation that a parent must feel in seeking to protect their child from big mistakes. It was a crowd-pleaser at my screening and I can’t imagine that won’t continue as it gets a wider release.

SATURDAY

CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME: Melissa McCarthy is coming for her things. After years of (immaculate) comedy films, she turns here to drama in a role that was made for her. As Lee Israel, she is droll, sarcastic and hilarious, and the film does a great job explaining how she could have decided that her fraud was the best option. I’ll be very surprised if she isn’t in the Oscar conversation this year as well.

*Header photo courtesy TIFF