I think of Ron Howard as Hollywood’s highest profile journeyman director, someone who’s comfortable in multiple genres while being best known for blockbuster entertainments. Here he’s stepping into a new frame late in the game, and more power to him. Eden is based on a true story of a group of Europeans who, post economic crash of 1929, pulled up sticks and moved to the Galapagos to start anew.
The script is from Haligonian Noah Pink (Tetris), and it’s one of the best things about this drama, mixing elements of The Mosquito Coast with any frontier western you’d care to name while never forgetting its key themes — we humans take all our conceits and failings with us when we try to restart civilizations elsewhere.
The cast is fresh and fantastic: Daniel Brühl, Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Kirby, Ana De Armas, and Jude Law, who shares the full Jude here, if you follow me. Howard’s approach, while not shirking from the requisite violence — and a bloody birth scene with Sweeney that challenges the one she did earlier this year in Immaculate — is also entirely old school: with the exception of authentic German Brühl, his cast of Brits, Cubans, and Americans awkwardly venture Germanic accents and none of them match, too often providing unfortunate and presumably unintended camp to the proceedings.
Nightbitch is easily the best title at TIFF this year, and after only four days I’d wager one of the best movies, too. Amy Adams is the Mother, deeply frustrated by the challenges of her domestic role two years since she had her son — she starts to suspect she’s tapping into something primal and turning into a dog.
Nightbitch is a very internal film — one of her husband’s serious complaints when she reveals how unhappy she is having sacrificed her role as an artist to be a mother is that he had no idea because she kept it all to herself. She was too ashamed to admit how difficult it is until she almost had a breakdown, and as far as analogy for mental illness, believing you’re becoming a dog is a terrific way to go.
Amy Adams, Scoot McNairy, author Rachel Yoder, and writer-director Marielle Heller at the Nightbitch screening
The film’s utterly unafraid of tackling this sticky subject, and more power to it — Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me? A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood, The Diary Of A Teenage Girl) is now four for four as a director of great movies, mixing drama, comedy, and pathos without hesitation. Adams is utterly unselfconscious in the lead and guaranteed will be getting a lot of love come awards season.
Heretic is a horror movie fuelled by terrific ideas and unexpected casting — two Mormons (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) knock on the wrong man’s door — Mr Reed, played by Hugh Grant, who has claimed he’s starting to resemble a testicle. If so, it really works for this segment of his career, playing weirdos and “baddies.” Mr Reed’s house is an elaborate trap, but you knew that was coming.
Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, and Chloe East at the screening tonight of Heretic
What’s fascinating is his arguments against organized religion. Full marks for filmmakers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods for the way they channel suspense here but unfortunately, once the women go into the basement of this house, Mr Reed’s plans become preposterous and the plotting goes straight to Saw town.
Too bad, because the movie’s set-up has so much promise.
