'Paul Fischer' drops in his final report from the Canadian fest with both reviews and personal stories this time about "Saw", "Imaginary Heroes" and others along with a few minor scoops:
<strong>Toronto Film Festival: Days 5-7</strong>
"As the Toronto Film Festival wraps up for this writer, 18 interviews and almost as many films later, it's been quite the success. Few really bad films [amongst the ones I happened to see] and once again, Toronto is a well oiled, cinematic machine. One of the highlights at Sundance earlier this year was the psycho-thriller Saw, the directorial debut from a talented young Aussie director James Wan, and co-written by Leigh Whannell, who also plays one of the two key roles, in this eerie and audacious thriller. Carey Elwes plays Dr. Gordon, a mild-mannered and accomplished surgeon. Adam (Whannell) is a young photographer who takes odd jobs to make a living. What do they have in common? They are both chained to the pipes of an abandoned bathroom, somewhere underground, perhaps in some old area of the subway system of New York. They are also both totally clueless as to how they got there, why they are there, and what is to become of them. To make matters worse, there is a man lying dead on the tile floor between them, his head blown open with a self-inflicted gunshot-wound, his hand still clutching the pistol and pools of blood still around his upper body. By using their intelligence, their survival instincts, and some cleverly revealed clues, Adam and Dr. Gordon unravel the mystery that has then trapped, and find out they are toys in a game devised by a clever and manipulative serial killer. The one who wins the game, well, he lives! Serial killer films suffer from tired repetition, but Saw has nothing common with its predecessors. More a genuine thriller which treats the viewer to surprise after surprise, Saw is consistently gripping, intelligent, surprising and genuinely ingenious. Superbly structured and masterfully directed by this talented, young Aussie film maker, this is a film that is original, beautifully paced and as exciting as the likes of Seven and Silence of the Lambs, a genuine rollercoaster ride of a thriller that keeps you guessing to the better end.
I also caught up with both Whannell and Wan at Toronto's Intercontinental Hotel, the hub of journalistic activity. The two Australians had virtually just arrived from their hometown of Melbourne, but were eager and laughing as we sat near the hotel bar. Both film buffs, they could hardly believe that director Todd Solondz was being interviewed just near us. "We're not here to gaze at the stars just the directors we admire," Wan says, laughingly. Whannell says that he wanted to act in the film that he and friend Wan wrote together, "Because I've always been a frustrated actor." The film began as an Australian movie, with locally coloured language and actors, but after struggling for a year to get the film off the ground, their manager suggested America, and Saw was born in the USA. "We wanted to make an Indie, guerrilla film, and I think, even in Hollywood, we achieved that." Lions Gate will release the film in the US next month, and the movie has been sold internationally to great success. More of my chat with these boys from Oz closer to the US opening of the film.
My final screening was as far removed from Saw as one can go: Imaginary Heroes, an exquisite film about family and loss, from Dan Harris, who scripted X2. But this is no Hollywood blockbuster. Sigourney Weaver is magnificent as the matriarch of a family dealing with suicide, adultery, motherhood and a marriage in need of repair. Perhaps over sentimentalized in parts, the film has a gloriously poetic feel to it, as it treats its material with combinations of dark humour and emotional purity. One can understand why the film is not for everyone, but with Weaver and the always marvellous Jeff Daniels at the helm, Imaginary Heroes is a sublime, captivating and superbly acted family drama. As I was approaching my last flurry of interviews, Jeff Daniels and I spoke about his need to flee Hollywood at the peak of his success and his passion for his Michigan-based theatre company. While wrapping things up, I bumped into Australian icon Jack Thompson, unexpectedly here because of both The Assassination of Nixon and Oyster Farmer, both films of which he spoke with genuine pride and passion. Of course, nobody told me he was coming, including the Australian distributor of Oyster farmer, determined, one suspects, of not telling anyone about what a special film they had. But Jack, whom I first interviewed nearly 20 years ago, said that if he were to retire now, he'd be happy "because I got to share the screen with Sean Penn." Thompson also talked about his role in the comic book film Man-Thing, in which he and real-life son Patrick Thompson play the bad guys, in this Australian-shot film. "I'm a huge fan of these kinds of film so it was a joy to work on it," Thompson said, while sipping beer at the Intercontinental.
My final interview was with Todd Solondz, here with the odd Palindromes. As odd and often funny in person as his films, Solondz admitted, while I laughed uproariously, that at one stage, Drew Barrymore met with him as a possible director of Charley's Angels. "Had I done it, instead of it taking $300m it would have made 3", he said, laughingly. The mind boggles! For this journalist, Toronto came to an abrupt end, but as huge as this festival has emerged, one thing is constant: Audiences here love the movies, and the movies reflect all of our distinct tastes. May it continue to live long and prosper. Until next year then".
