Joey Magidson
It really does seem like I never get the same version of the Toronto International Film Festival twice. I know I said previously, but it’s true. My maiden voyage in 2021 was recapped here on the site, but it was a unique situation that will likely never be repeated. Two years ago was closer to the norm, with stars and glitz abound, recapped here. Last year? It would have been a normal TIFF, if not for the strikes preventing most of the talent from attending. In a way, it kept things focused on the movies, so there’s that, but fingers were crossed that the next year we’d be fully back to normal. Well, that’s this year, and it was true. At the same time, it did feel like a TIFF lacking in some of the same burst of awards buzz that we usually get. Still, there was no shortage of interesting flicks, which is why we all go there in the first place.
What you’ll see below is my roundup of everything that struck my fancy at TIFF this year. I’ve separated the sections into my thoughts on the films and performances, as well as a full ranking of the movies, plus final thoughts. If you followed my tweets while I was up in Toronto, little of this will be surprising, but still, it’s all in black and white. Here goes nothing…my summary of my time in Canada for this 2024 version of the festival. Plus, be sure to check out all of our festival coverage here.
My top four titles overall were either movies I saw at the Telluride Film Festival (Anora, Conclave, and Saturday Night), or one that I pre-screened back in New York (The Substance, so it counts more as a TIFF viewing, in a way). That being said, the TIFF-centric lot was hardly lacking, with the best of the bunch being Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Nightbitch, The Last Republican, We Live in Time, The Order, Heretic, and Eden. An eclectic mix, but they were all things that either met or exceeded expectations, by and large. Throw in The Brutalist and the TIFF viewings were certainly more than worthwhile.
There was once again lovely acting all around, but in terms of performances I saw during TIFF, the ones that stood out most were The Brutalist trio of Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, and Guy Pearce, as well as Hugh Grant in Heretic, alongside Nightbitch‘s Amy Adams, plus the We Live in Time pairing of Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. Of course, if we include Telluride, we also have Anora‘s Mikey Madison alongside Conclave‘s Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci, plus Danielle Deadwyler from The Piano Lesson, while The Substance‘s in-between still features outstanding work from Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. So, as much as any year, the acting was very much on point.
Best Film: Anora (Runner Up: Conclave and Saturday Night)
Best Director: Sean Baker for Anora (Runner Up: Coralie Fargeat for The Substance and Jason Reitman for Saturday Night)
Best Actor: Ralph Fiennes for Conclave (Runner Up: Andrew Garfield for We Live in Time and Hugh Grant for Heretic)
Best Actress: Mikey Madison for Anora (Runner Up: Amy Adams for Nightbitch and Florence Pugh for We Live in Time)
Best Supporting Actor: Nicholas Hoult for The Order (Runner Up: Brian Tyree Henry for The Fire Inside and Guy Pearce for The Brutalist)
Best Supporting Actress: Felicity Jones for The Brutalist (Runner Up: Danielle Deadwyler for The Piano Lesson and Margaret Qualley for The Substance)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Conclave (Runner Up: The Friend and Nightbitch)
Best Original Screenplay: Saturday Night (Runner Up: Anora and The Substance)
My fourth time at TIFF was diluted somewhat by Telluride having so many good movies, but that just meant others up in Canada got to experience them as well. So, Toronto again provided strong films, fun times, and many memories. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed my coverage from the festival. We’re off to the New York Film Festival next, so stay tuned for that. TIFF is about to turn to NYFF…
1. Anora
2. Conclave
6. Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
7. The Friend
8. Nightbitch
10. We Live in Time
11. The Order
12. Heretic
13. Eden
14. The Brutalist
15. Emilia Pérez
16. Presence
17. The Fire Inside
18. The Piano Lesson
19. K-Pops!
20. Superboys of Malegaon
21. Takin’ Care of Business
23. The Apprentice
Stay tuned to see how the TIFF titles do throughout the rest of the year!
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