Period drama at TIFF

We have this amazing thing in Toronto every September called the TIFF. If you have never been to Toronto before, September is some of our best weather, and we have some of the most avid film buffs in the world living right here in Canada. And for some reason, the movie stars flock here for this festival. Woooohooooo!!

George Clooney and Ryan Gosling goofing around in Toronto

If I didn't have a pesky old job, I'd be hanging around the streets of TO right now hoping to see Ryan Gosling and George Clooney hugging each other. Instead, I view the photos like the rest of the star struck world. By the way, if you haven't seen Ryan Gosling in Crazy, Stupid Love I can HIGHLY recommend it! (and he's Canadian, and he did a year of high school in my hometown of Burlington, Ont)

OK, back to the period drama stuff. I was just perusing the TIFF website and I couldn't believe the number of films premiering and the number that I would really love to see. Here is just a taste:

Albert Nobbs with Glenn Close

Albert Nobbs

Glenn Close co-wrote and stars in this adaptation of the play about a nineteenth-century Irishwoman who disguises herself as a man and works as a butler for twenty years. Mia Wasikowska, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Aaron Johnson co-star in this intelligent and often surprising period drama.

Anonymous with Rhys Ifans

Anonymous

Who really wrote Shakespeare's plays? In this vivid drama from Roland Emmerich, mystery swirls around the authorship of classic plays, as the back-stabbing theatre world intersects with political intrigue at the court of Elizabeth I.

Damsels in Distress

Damsels in Distress

Back after a thirteen-year hiatus, Whit Stillman returns with Damsels in Distress- a film that is distinctly offbeat, even manic, compared to his classic nineties comedies of manners, and yet retains his precise wit and refined dialogue. Damsels in Distress takes a unique look into the psyche of privileged American youth, focusing on a group of undergraduates at a leafy East Coast university that has only recently begun to accept female students.  (not a period piece but it looks intriguing!)

A Dangerous Method

A Dangerous Method

For his third consecutive collaboration with Viggo Mortensen, David Cronenberg adapts Christopher Hampton's 2002 stage play concerning the turbulent relationship between Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and his mentor Sigmund Freud (Mortensen) as they struggle to treat a troubled patient (Keira Knightley).

The Deep Blue Sea with Rachel Weisz and Tom Hiddleston

 The Deep Blue Sea

Master chronicler of post-War England Terence Davies directs Rachel Weisz as a woman whose overpowering, obsessive love alienates the men around her and destroys her well-being. Based on Terence Rattigan's play, made famous by countless actresses.

Hysteria with Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy

Hysteria

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy star in this cheeky romantic comedy about the invention of the vibrator. Victorian London is brought to life in vivid colour as a young doctor (Dancy) struggles to establish himself while confronting the gutsy daughter of his boss (Gyllenhaal). Rupert Everett and Felicity Jones play supporting roles.  (Tee hee! I am so looking forward to this one.)

W.E. Madonna's new film

W.E.

Second-time director Madonna returns with W.E., featuring Abbie Cornish as Wally Winthrop, a woman in 1998 who is infatuated with the 1930s marriage of King Edward VIII (James D'Arcy) and American divorcée Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough). Spanning six decades, W.E. gracefully weaves the past and present into two parallel love stories.

Wuthering Heights- A new interpretation

Wuthering Heights

No starched lace, no panoramic views, no sweeping score — Andrea Arnold takes Emily Brontë’s classic novel and strips it to the root of youthful passion, restoring its stark power for a contemporary audience. Following her bracing portraits of female desire in Red Road and Fish Tank, Arnold pushes even further here, portraying love as a rush of heart-stopping beauty, cruelty and impulsive acts.

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So there you have it. Looks pretty exciting doesn't it? And that's with only one photo of movie stars hugging each other and mugging for the cameras. So feel free to check out the full listing of the offerings at TIFF and see if there are any others that you might like, or to find out more about the ones above. We are now entering the pre-Oscar insanity that swirls around the film industry late in the year. Enjoy! 

P.S. If you want some photos of the stars in Toronto here is a Canadian news site with some good "stars on the streets of Toronto" shots.