You've heard about Widows opening the fest. You've seen the preview for First Man a hundred times. You've even started reading If Beale Street Could Talk so you can be the first on your block to talk about how Barry Jenkins captures the essence of James Baldwin better than any other filmmaker. Even then, you've barely scratched the surface of all the excellent films playing at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, which gets started on Thursday. We'll be on hand throughout the festival with reviews and reactions, but first, here are six films premiering at TIFF that we're super excited about.
Vox Lux
A late addition to the TIFF line-up, this musical from The Childhood of a Leader director Brady Corbet honestly blindsided us. It’s got one hell of a cast — Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Willem Dafoe — and it features original songs by Sia and a score by Scott fuckin’ Walker, so sign us up! Vox Lux tells the tale of a pair of sisters who suffer a horribly violent tragedy, and transform their pain into song-form. This attracts the attention of a prominent manager, who shephards them through the world of pop music to fame and fortune, until, one day, another act of violence interrupts their lives. We’re down for whatever Corbet is putting up, and it’ll be fascinating to see Portman in a true musical — outside of her rappin’ SNL appearances.
