Stay Through the Credits

Our thirty first film at Toronto opens like an instant queer classic before slowly losing its grip on its own story. We talk about Éanna Hardwicke's magnetic breakout performance, why the film's ambitious structure and dreamlike detours end up working against it, and how one devastating hospital scene shows exactly what this film could have been with a tighter focus.

Our thirtieth film at Toronto this year follows a forgotten housewife who accidentally discovers Method acting and completely unravels her old life in the process. We talk about Julianne Moore's fearless, transformative performance, how Jesse Eisenberg turns a cozy community theater comedy into something genuinely strange and thrilling, and why Paul Giamatti's frustrated director might be the perfect audience surrogate for this wild ride.

Our twenty ninth film at Toronto turns a Parkinson's diagnosis into an unexpectedly tender, funny love story between two strangers navigating the same fear. We talk about Laura Linney and Rhys Ifans delivering some of the festival's most quietly powerful performances, how screenwriter Paul Mayhew Archer's own experience with the disease shapes the film's honesty, and why a story about illness ends up feeling so genuinely life affirming.

Our twenty eighth film at Toronto adapts a celebrated stage play about sexual assault and the justice system, and struggles to translate its power to the screen. We talk about Cynthia Erivo's committed performance, the film's heavy handed visual choices that undercut its most powerful moments, and why a brief, quietly devastating police station scene shows exactly what this film could have been.

Our twenty seventh film at Toronto tells the true story of the first successful Everest ascent, but somehow makes one of history's most dangerous climbs feel oddly low stakes. We talk about the film's beautiful reframing of Tenzing Norgay's relationship with the mountain itself, why Tom Hiddleston and Genden Phuntsok's chemistry can't quite make up for a script that resolves every conflict too easily, and how a story about overcoming incredible odds ends up feeling strangely inevitable.

Our twenty sixth film at Toronto is a gloriously strange sci-fi comedy about biker gang aliens terrified of catching human emotions. We talk about how the Zellner brothers convinced this many A list actors to fully commit to total absurdity, why Chris Pine and Cate Blanchett steal every scene they're in, and how the film manages to sneak real melancholy underneath its chaos and toilet humor.

Our twenty fifth film at Toronto tells the true story of Ian Charleson, the Chariots of Fire star who took on Hamlet while secretly battling AIDS in 1989. We talk about Andrew Scott's extraordinary, layered performance, how the film captures the specific fear and secrecy gay actors faced during the height of the AIDS crisis, and why using Shakespeare's most famous role to confront death head on became one of the most powerful stories of the entire festival.

Our twenty fourth film at Toronto sets up a genuinely fascinating medical and family dilemma and then barely scratches the surface of it. We talk about Antonio Banderas and Eva Birthistle bringing real emotional weight to an otherwise uneven script, why the film sidelines its most compelling character just when her story matters most, and how a movie this ambitious ends up feeling strangely incomplete.

Our twenty third film at Toronto revisits one of the strangest true crime cases in recent memory, and somehow finds a fresh, sharp way to tell it. We talk about Patricia Arquette's fearless performance as one of the most self assured criminals you'll ever see onscreen, David Harbour's quietly clueless partner in crime, and how Courtney Cox's long awaited return to directing turns out to be one of the pleasant surprises of the festival.

Our twenty second film at Toronto brings back the kind of juicy, star driven melodrama Hollywood barely makes anymore. We talk about Sarah Paulson, Naomi Watts and Dianne Wiest all going completely all in on a story about motherhood, denial and decades of buried family secrets, and why watching this level of talent tear into material this dramatic feels like such a rare treat.