TIFF 2016 Preview: The Hollywood Starring Dramas
With the Toronto International Film Festival about to start, we take a look at the most anticipated films and the lesser known projects worth checking out at this year's festival.
All I See Is You
Marc Forster ('Quantum of Solace,' 'World War Z') directs Blake Lively and Jason Clarke in one of his more down to earth efforts.
Unlike 'Blind' (2014), where the main character goes blind during the film, this movie follows a blind woman who undergoes sight-restoring surgery. With her, we feel the life-altering experience, how it changes her and especially how it changes her so far happy relationship with her husband.
American Honey
Cannes winner 'American Honey' stars Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf and Riley Keough ('The Girlfriend Experience') in a crazy ride across the country.
With nothing to lose, Star joins Jake and his gang on a trip selling fake magazine subscriptions, just after meeting him. Partying and crashing motels they grow closer and closer. But this creates a dynamic not everyone in the group is happy with.
American Pastoral
Ewan McGregor directs himself, Jennifer Connelly and Dakota Fanning in his directorial debut, based on the acclaimed Philip Roth novel.
McGregor plays Seymour 'Swede' Levov, who's seemingly perfect family derails when his daughter starts her protest against the Vietnam war.
Certain Women
Director Kelly Reichardt ('Wendy and Lucy,' 'Night Moves') brings another strong portrait of four independent women, played by Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, Lily Gladstone and Kristen Stewart.
All with their own careers, hopes and dreams, they try to make sense of the world around them.
Manchester by the Sea
Casey Affleck plays a man who has to take care of his nephew after his brother dies of a heart condition.
His quiet life as a Boston handyman is suddenly turned upside down by the teenage boy full of life.
Nocturnal Animals
Tom Ford directs a star-filled cast in this much-hyped psychological thriller.
Amy Adams plays a LA art-gallery owner who leads a pretty quiet life. Her husband (Armie Hammer) is away for work when a manuscript lands on her desk. It's by her former husband (Jake Gyllenhaal) and holds a disturbing connection to her own past.
Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer
Richard Gere is Norman, a New York Fixer who gets in over his head.
He's supported by the rich company of Michael Sheen, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Dan Stevens, Steve Buscemi, Hank Azaria and Isaach De Bankolé.
Snowden
After its surprise showing at Comic-Con earlier this summer (how was that the appropriate venue?), 'Snowden' hits TIFF before its official release in the US next week.
With Joseph Gordon-Levitt sporting the trademark low voice it will likely be a much debated biopic. But to me it seems to be produced way too soon, as we're all still living in the middle of Snowden's story.
The Promise
'Hotel Rwanda' director Terry George brings together Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon and Christian Bale for a love triangle set during World War I.
Una
Rooney Mara and Ben Mendelsohn lead this psychological thriller where a woman, who was sexually assaulted at the age of 13, tracks down her perpetrator. But when she finds him, he doesn't turn out to be the man she remembered and expected him to be.
Wakefield
Bryan Cranston plays a New York lawyer who just can't take it anymore. One day, out of the blue, he decides to leave his wife and two children. But instead of catching a plane to a remote location, he hides in his own basement, still able to follow his family and the results of his disappearance.
