by Ashley Jane Davis, Staff writer

All My Puny Sorrows

Directed by Michael McGowan
Written by Michael McGowan, novel by Miriam Toews
Starring Alison Pill, Sarah Gadon, Mare Winningham, Amybeth McNulty, and Donal Logue
Runtime: 103 minutes
Premieres at TIFF on September 10th

Based on the award-winning book by author Miriam Toews, All My Puny Sorrows follows a family dealing with grief – grief from the past, grief from the present, and future grief that is inevitable, lurking over every scene. We mainly focus on Lottie, the mother stoically keeping the family together, Yoli, the daughter and sister who is struggling through a creative slump and a divorce, and Elf, the daughter and sister who seemingly “has it all”, but desperately wants to die.

We spend some time in snowy Ontario (which I love! Hi, home!) as Yoli returns to her family home to stay with her mother and visit her sister in the hospital. Through discussions and flashbacks, we learn a bit about the family’s backstory and how the patriarch of the family suddenly committed suicide years ago, causing them to cut ties with their Mennonite community. Each family member struggles with how to balance their personal beliefs about the transitory nature of life and existence, suicide, and the right to make personal decisions as an individual.

Ultimately, I liked the film, although I feel audiences need to be aware and cautious as it could be quite triggering. Even though some of the acting was a lot, I felt it was mostly fitting for the emotional gravity of the situations. I do wish I could have seen this taken on by a different director who might have woven in a bit more empathy and nuance for this particular story.

I personally have no idea what it is like to face these circumstances, but in the audience Q&A, a number of people spoke briefly about their own similar experiences. They expressed their appreciation at the portrayal onscreen – both for its realness, and for its humour. This seems to be a topic that isn’t comfortable for many to discuss freely. I think films like this give us an opportunity to re-examine our own thoughts on assisted suicide, and what it means to truly be there for our loved ones who need love and support the most.

The Guilty

Directed by Antoine Fuqua
Written by Nic Pizzolatto, Gustav Möller, and Emil Nygaard Albertsen
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Ethan Hawke, Riley Keough, Christina Vidal Mitchell, Eli Goree, Paul Dano and Peter Sarsgaard
Runtime: 90 minutes
Premieres at TIFF on September 10th

By Ashley Jane Davis, Staff writer

So many movies are an attack on the senses. Humongous explosions, bad CGI, unnecessary voiceovers, and impossible action sequences are pretty easy to find in abundance. However, much can be said for exploring the opposite technique – letting events unfold in real time in one setting, allowing the audience to use their imagination to paint in the details.

Director Antoine Fuqua takes on the 2018 Nordic noir film of the same name and moves it across the globe to Los Angeles. In it, we sit with officer Joe Baylor (played acutely by Jake Gyllenhaal) as he works a shift as an emergency call dispatcher. Joe has a bad attitude and a bad night and day ahead of him. We learn that this current duty is the result of a disciplinary hearing in reaction to some “professional misstep” that he will have to answer for in court the following day. Joe dismisses caller after caller, seemingly aching for his shift to end. But then one cryptic call snaps him into paying attention.

We are given the opportunity to try to picture the distressed caller on the other end of the line, desolately grasping for help after being kidnapped. A mystery is growing, and Joe uses every trick he knows, ethical or not, to piece things together. As his intensity rises into a frenzy, we have to find out what all is going on!

The story deals with the corruption of police, the desperation often found within the family unit, and the realities of mental health issues. It is gripping throughout its entire runtime and never lets up. Sometimes it’s true that our imaginations can be stronger than things we see with our own eyes. Stripping down a story to the bare bones is a risk, but here, it pays off.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Directed by Michael Showalter
Written by Abe Sylvia
Starring Jessica Chastain, Andrew Garfield, Cherry Jones, Vincent D'Onofrio
Runtime: 126 minutes
Premieres at TIFF on September 12th

To be honest, going into this screening, all I knew about Tammy Faye Bakker was her name.

Once the film got rolling, I started to vaguely recall news stories about her and her televangelist husband, Jim Bakker, but it wasn’t a story that I consciously wanted to know more about. I got the impression that the audience I watched with thought it was too much. But let me tell you, this movie was an absolute rollercoaster for me.

I connected with this film so much because of my past. For 33 years of my life, I was immersed in a world of hyper-religious folks. People who speak in scripture, see every coincidence as a sign from god, supress their sexuality deeper than hell, and choose to deny the existence of family members because of their “sinful lifestyles”. Many scenes that got a hearty laugh from the crowd made me cry. Through the film, and ultimately the careers of Tammy and Jim, we see the ugliness of the business of religion. Not faith, religion. There is a big difference. The classic moneymaking tactics are on full display in this story. Love bombing? Works. Influencing children? Works. Manipulating guilt and shame? Works. Appealing to a distorted persecution complex? Works. Why does god need money? I’ll never know. However, the key to this film is that it managed to show the reality of the events that transpired while also balancing the humanity of the individuals involved. While so much disgusted me, so much made me feel–especially for Tammy Faye.

Tammy Faye really did carve a path for herself in one of the world’s oldest boy’s clubs, Christianity. I loved the scenes where she had the courage to stand out as different – by making a seat for herself at the men’s table, by belting out her faith without fear, and by daring to evolve and demonstrate real love for the outcasts of society, rather than longing to expose the sins of the world.

The performances were knockouts. Andrew Garfield plays evangelical scaringly accurate, and Jessica Chastain totally transforms! The audience loved to laugh at Tammy Faye. The world did too. At one point in the movie, there was a series of real clips from famous comedy tv shows making fun of Tammy’s appearance and persona (which we learn is something she dealt with her whole life), and it just felt sad to me. Why do we still do that? She was human, living with scars from a hurting inner child, like so many of us. The Bakkers undoubtedly got swept up in a desire for more wealth at the detriment of others but show me rich business folks who don’t.