#TIFF23: TEAM MR. WILL’S TOP FIVE TIFF PICKS

I think many of you will share in the sentiment that we are thankful just to have a Film Festival amidst what have been very trying times as the world navigates the SAG-AFTRA strike. While things look quieter this year, Team Mr. Will as every year, is ready to bring their A-Game and you can expect some amazing coverage, whether it be reviews, talent sightings and red carpets.

David Baldwin (missing sadly in the banner photo), Amanda Gilmore, George Kozera, Nicholas Porteous, Justin Waldman and myself share our top five films (sometimes in no specific order) we are most excited about at the Festival this year!

Be sure to bookmark this page for all our TIFF ’23 updates daily!

DAVID BALDWIN (@DaveMABaldwin)

1. Dream Scenario
2. The Holdovers
3. Hit Man
4. Knox Goes Away
5. The Boy and the Heron

I have been attending TIFF physically/virtually since 2010, and I will not mince words – it is my favourite time of the year. Sure, TIFF ’23 is going to be way different without many of the Actors and Writers in town to promote, but their fighting for their rights and the very future of their professions is much, much, MUCH more important than seeing them here in Toronto (I just hope the strikes are resolved before TIFF ’24!). That said, the focus of the Festival has rightly shifted to the movies and there are plenty of surefire bangers that are going to be unmissable over these 11 days. There is a little bit of something for everyone and getting to be amongst the first audiences in the world to see the films together at Roy Thomson Hall, the Princess of Wales, the Royal Alexandra Theatre (or the RAT as the Midnight Madness crew calls it), the TIFF Bell Lightbox and the Scotiabank is a genuinely thrilling prospect. So get hyped fam, and come say hi if you see me. I’ll be the guy with glasses and bleary eyes who has not seen proper daylight for a week.

AMANDA GILMORE (@GilmoreAmanda)

Although TIFF ’23 is missing some of my most anticipated films of the year (Maestro, The Killer, Poor Things), there are still plenty of titles I’m eagerly awaiting. Everyone I know who’s seen Fair Play has told me it’s a must-see. I love a Thriller about gender and power dynamics so I’m all in! The plot of Fingernails has piqued my interest more than any other title in the line-up this year. Plus I’m a huge fan of Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed and Jeremy Allen White. Out of all the films I missed at Cannes, The Delinquents is the one I’m most upset about. Everyone I know has raved about it, and this is my second chance! Out of all the films with actors working as Directors and stars, Woman of the Hour is the one that stands out for me. A Crime-Mystery-Thriller coming from Anna Kendrick just feels right. As a huge fan of ’21s Drive My Car, I cannot wait to see Evil Does Not Exist. I know Ryusuke Hamaguchi won’t disappoint. Happy TIFF everyone!

1. Fair Play
2. Fingernails
3. The Delinquents
4. Woman of the Hour
5. Evil Does Not Exist

NICHOLAS PORTEOUS (@NoveltyHat)

1. The Zone of Interest
2. The Boy and the Heron
3. Fingernails
4. Dream Scenario
5. Anatomy of a Fall 

This year’s TIFF is decidedly low-key and the lineup is somewhat lacking in obvious heavy-hitters or *guaranteed* masterpieces, so a couple of unexpected gambles have found their way to the top of my most anticipated list! The first couple are generally safe bets–Jonathan Glazer doesn’t make movies often, but when he does they always leave an impact. The Zone of Interest is his vision of the holocaust and I’ve heard it’s on another level. The Boy and the Heron is reportedly Hayao Miyazaki‘s final film–the culmination of an unparalleled animated oeuvre. I’m not alone in my excitement–despite an abundance of screenings, I’m still searching for tickets! Fingernails is a compelling question mark. The first English-language film from Christos Nikou, a close disciple of Yorgos Lanthimos, with Riz Ahmed, Jessie Buckley, Jeremy Allen White, and a tantalizingly bizarre premise about an institute that investigates the authenticity of romantic relationships. I’m a sucker for this kind of weird, wild stuff. Speaking of weird, wild stuff–Dream Scenario, the A24 Nicolas Cage movie about a university professor who unwittingly appears in everyone’s–literally everyone’s–dreams. Sold. Anatomy of a Fall won the Palme d’Or and features Sandra Huller, who I last saw in Toni Erdmann. Here, she’s on trial for allegedly murdering her husband. Am I excited by that description? Of course! Case CLOSED!

JUSTIN WALDMAN (@DubsReviews)

There is never an order to top five or ten lists I make. I don’t like putting things in an order it’s too much pressure and life needs less pressure and a little more chaos. So let the chaos begin!

1. The Promised Land
2. Dicks: The Musical
3. Boy Kills World
4. Wicked Little Lies
5. Smugglers

Special mentions: The Holdovers, Dream Scenario, Wildcat, Knox Goes Away, Woman of the Hour

There’s a lot at TIFF this year that is exciting and deserving of the spotlight. While some of the more high profile titles may be missing due to the ongoing SAG-AGTRA/WGA strike (which I FULLY support) there are still plenty of exciting and buzzy titles to be had at this years festival. Directorial debuts, new features from some great Directors, Nicolas Cage doing Nicolas Cage things, Fathers directing daughters, and so much more so strap yourself in for a King Street that may actually be walkable and the 2023 edition of TIFF! 

GEORGE KOZERA (@PARTYG)

Many of this year’s selections whetted my appetite, but these five had me salivating with anticipation!

NEXT GOAL WINS

Starring Michael Fassbender, in a rare comedic role, I’m sure this movie will be funny and heartfelt, and you’ll find me in the line-up!

THE ZONE OF INTEREST

After its rapturous reception at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Director Jonathan Glazer‘s THE ZONE OF INTEREST addresses subject matter that while harrowing and numbing, is important to me. The horrors of Auschwitz should never be forgotten.

SING SING/RUSTIN

Colman Domingo is the reason these two movies are my perfect double bill this year at TIFF. I cannot wait especially to see what Director George C. Wolfe brings to the screen as I have been mesmerized by his work on Broadway and his coup de grace as Director of the screen version of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

MONSTER

Director Kore-eda Hirokazu wowed us a TIFF ’18 with “Shoplifters“. It was the benchmark of excellence I wanted throughout that year. All I know is that it won the Queer Palme Award at Cannes and it’s Hirokazu. I need nothing more!

MR. WILL (@mrwillw)

1. Fair Play
2. Daddio
3. Sing Sing
4. Fingernails
5. Lee

I love a good messy story and FAIR PLAY has the looks of everything I love. This Erotic Thriller by Writer/Director Chloe Domont garnered raves at Sundance, exploring what happens when a couple who work together (Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich) are up for a promotion and the aftermath of that when one gets the job. DADDIO from Writer/Director Christy Hall, explores an unlikely connection struck between cab driver (Sean Penn) and a woman (Dakota Johnson) boarding a taxi from JFK Airport. SING SING features a showstopping performance from amazing Primetime Emmy and 2023 TIFF Tribute Award winner Colman Domingo as a prisoner who escapes his grim reality in a theatre troupe. And if all the buzz we’ve heard about it in advance of the Fest is true, we’re ready for a huge treat! Shot right here in Toronto, we were so intrigued by Cate Blanchett-produced FINGERNAILS, which explores whether a couple really has true love after a test tells them so. Kate Winslet can do no wrong in my books and we’re excited to see her as Lee Miller, who went from fashion model to American Photojournalist, capturing iconic photographs during World War II, changing our perception of the world.

Happy TIFF!

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)