#TIFF26: “TANGLES” REVIEW

By David Baldwin

It is the late 1990s and Sarah (Abbi Jacobson) is a queer artist and activist who has just gotten a promotion at work and has a new girlfriend named Donimo (Samira Wiley). Things in Sarah’s life quickly change after she takes a trip home and notices her Mom Midge (Emmy-winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus) acting completely out of character. She pushes her father Rob (Emmy-winner Bryan Cranston) to take Midge to a doctor, and when he finally does, the family learn that Midge has the beginnings of Alzheimer’s.

What follows in TANGLES, the Feature Directorial debut of Canadian filmmaker and Co-Writer Leah Nelson, is an exploration of grief, understanding, familial bonds and coming-of-age in the face of one losing a parent to a horrific degenerative disease. As the ending credits suggest, it is an all too common narrative for so many people and Nelson presents the story of Sarah Leavitt’s (also Co-Writing) original graphic novel in a raw, honest and often darkly hilarious kind of way. And because it is all captured in black-and-white 2D animation, it allows Nelson and her team to really get creative with the format, layering in unforgettable moments of tragedy and wonder in ways the dominant 3D style rarely, if ever, presents. I was frequently in awe watching the visuals alternate between crude and polished, always on the lookout for not-so-hidden details and trying my best to not become a weeping disaster.

If the impressive visuals were not enough, the voice cast Nelson has assembled might be one of the best in recent memory. Alongside Jacobson, Louis-Dreyfus, Cranston and Wiley – each giving absolutely stellar and devastating performances – we get solid supporting turns from Beanie Feldstein, Seth Rogen, Pamela Adlon, Sarah Silverman, Bowen Yang, Wanda Sykes and more. They each get a turn or two to shine, and help make TANGLES one of this festival’s unmissable hidden gems.

TANGLES screens at TIFF ‘26:

Sun. Sept 13 at 2:30 PM at Scotiabank Theatre

Wed. Sept 16 at 9:00 AM at Scotiabank Theatre

Fri. Sept 18 at 12:15 PM at Scotiabank Theatre