September is bonus month on the film calendar, with major festivals taking place back-to-back throughout the first half of the month. Between them, Venice and Toronto fit in perfectly with the month’s back-to-school vibe by offering cinephiles a host of shiny new films to look forward to in the coming months, as well as highlighting the awards-baiters and Oscar hopefuls.
Working on the assumption that her guest pass fell victim to red tape, and accepting with a heavy heart that she won’t be catching up with George, Matt and Keira this year, GOF has been perusing the coverage over the last couple of weeks from the comfort of her desk and now presents, for your consideration, her ten films to get excited about from the transatlantic twosome’s 2011 crop:
The Ides of March – George Clooney’s fourth feature as a director/star is a neatly-timed political thriller following a Democratic candidate as he aims for the White House. Scandal, naturally, ensues. Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Evan Rachel Wood also star, making it an exciting prospect for 2012.
Shame – Michael Fassbender’s portrayal of a sex addict won him Best Actor in Venice. Carey Mulligan gives support as his sister, while Steve McQueen’s direction and the shots of New York came in for great praise in Venice.
Anonymous – a slight genre-change for disaster movie stalwart Roland Emmerich, looking at the mystery of the true author of Shakespeare’s works, with Rhys Ifans.
Trishna – Michael Winterbottom (the man behind GOF faves The Trip and A Cock and Bull Story, amongst others) offers an Indian spin on Tess of the d’Urbervilles, set in the present day, with Slumdog’s Frieda Pinto and Riz Ahmed (Britz) as the leads.
Contagion – already gaining a reputation as the *other* film where something nasty happens to Gwyneth Paltrow’s head, Steven Soderberg pits an all-star cast against a global pandemic. Looks to be a real feel-good one.
Take this Waltz – Sarah Polley got good reviews for her debut Away from Her a couple of years ago. She follows it up with a tale of a young married couple facing crisis. Seth Rogen and Michelle Williams star.
A Dangerous Method – The Talented Mr Fassbender plays Carl Jung opposite Viggo Mortensen’s Freud and Keira Knightley’s “erotically disturbed” psychiatric patient.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Tomas Alfredsson (Let the right one in) directs another all-star cast (Oldman! Hurt! Firth!) in a film adaptation of John leCarre’s spy novel classic. It got rave reviews at Venice despite missing out on any awards. Oh and the trailer drips class.
Poulet Aux Prunes – Following the animated gem that was Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi serves up another Iranian-set tale. Comparisons with Amelie seem inevitable, especially due to the whimsical trailer, so it might not be to everyone’s taste. If it strikes the right bittersweet mix however it could be a treat for fans of that style.
Drive – Ryan Gosling (him again) has described this as “a John Hughes movie with head-smashing”. After watching the trailer, I can’t quite decide if it looks quite brilliant or a bit dodgy, but I’d give it a go.
Also piquing interest: Joseph Gordon Levitt and Seth Rogen in “cancer comedy” 50/50, new takes on Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, Alexander “Sideways” Payne directs George Clooney in The Descendants and Roman Polanski shuts Jodie Foster, John C. O’Reilly, Kate Winslet and the wonderful Christoph Waltz in a room and waits for Carnage.
