Toronto Film Festival 2009: Day Six – “Chloe,” “The Loved Ones,” “White Material,” “Vengeance,” “Rec 2″
Chloe
Atom Egoyan’s latest effort was surprising in several ways—financed outside of Canada for once (and produced by Ivan Reitman) the film is Egoyan’s most linear and mainstream effort to date, filmed on the streets of Toronto. Focusing on a well to do couple, Catherine and David (an excellent Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson), the film’s narrative begins almost immediately when David misses his plane home for a surprise birthday party and Catherine suspects he has been cheating on her. Hiring a young escort named Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) to place herself in David’s way to see if he will give into temptation, the film begins to focus on the rather intense relationship Catherine and Chloe develop—one that ends up being a rather Sapphic affair (like I said, this year is International Queer Cinema). Of course, all is not as it seems, and the tensions turn deadly when it turns out not everyone has been up front about certain details. An excellent, excellent little potboiler scripted by the screenwriter of Secretary (2002), Erin Cressida Wilson, I suppose I was a little disappointed by the fact that Chloe happens to be a reworking of Anne Fontaine’s 2003 film starring Fanny Ardant and Emmanuelle Beart, Nathalie…I suppose I’m most upset that I’ve owned Fontaine’s film for several years and have yet to watch it. Chloe on the other hand, is a must see. Here’s one for the girls, Julianne.
The Loved Ones
First time director Sean Byrne has made an excellent, nasty little horror film in the vein of the best Ozploitation efforts documented in the recent Not Another Hollywood (2008). If Quentin Tarantino hasn’t seen Byrne’s film, The Loved Ones, I am certain he will want to and he will love it. Brent, a high school student, accidentally kills his father in car crash when he wraps their car around a tree in an attempt to avoid a strange figure in the road. Skip ahead six months, and it’s time for prom. Brent is a bit of an “emotional retard,” as his girlfriend calls him, and as he angrily stalks off into the outback several hours before prom to engage in some ultra healthy angsty cutting, he’s bonked over the head and abducted into one of the most entertaining and campy (aren’t the best ones always a little bit?) plot I’ve seen in most recent tributes to the genre—with shades of Carrie and Misery, Brent is abducted into a dark little world ruled by a vicious young woman named Lola, or perhaps more aptly, Princess. And featuring an Australian hit song by Kasey Chambers called “Am I Not Pretty Enough?” and you have some darkly comic, horrific thrills running throughout The Loved Ones.
White Material
Oh my Isabelle Huppert, how I love thee. And how I wish you would have shown up alongside Claire Denis for the first screening of your newest film, White Material. Featuring the union of two French masters (Denis/Huppert), this latest film is a return to Africa for Denis, focusing on Isabelle Huppert as a fearless woman who has been struggling with her family (which includes Christopher Lambert as her worn out looking husband) to make a success of a coffee plantation in an unspecified part of Africa. A civil war brings us into the last week of the plantation’s existence as Huppert desperately tries to ignore the severe political unrest, attempting to hire new workers for harvest as everyone else has abandoned her. With very little dialogue, we’re invited to watch some pretty brutal, graphic events as Huppert’s stubborn character at least realizes that there is no hope and everything has been lost. It’s a powerful performance, and an interesting addition to her recent turns as a woman struggling to hold onto her property in the face of various dangers, such as Private Property (2006), Home (2008), and The Sea Wall (2008). Also featuring Isaach De Bankole as a wounded rebel soldier known as the Boxer.
Vengeance
Johnnie To’s latest effort is a rocking, excellent noir revenge action film and stars the French king of rock (think the French Elvis), Johnny Hallyday, who is one scary looking mother these days. The plot is simple—in Macau, a Chinese man and his French wife are assassinated, along with their two children. The Frenchwoman happens to be Hallyday’s daughter, himself an assassin turned chef. Hallyday comes to Macau to avenge her, as she survives while her husband and children die. And then you’re in store for some beautiful, stylized shoot out scenes as Hallyday hires three assassins to help him find the perps. A quick and dirty little number, Vengeance was originally meant as a vehicle for Alain Deloin—but Johnny Hallyday is just as curiously effective.
Rec 2
The highly anticipated sequel to Paco Plaza and JaumeBalaguero’s Rec (2007) received its North American premiere last night as part of TIFF’s Midnight Madness lineup. And it does not disappoint. Set nearly 15 minutes after the first Rec has ended, and we’re back with a SWAT team and a doctor from the Ministry of Health all set to enter the same quarantined building. Though I prefer the first film, the second film jumps right into the action and opens up plot elements hinted at in the last five minutes of the first film. I think I preferred the vague insinuations at the end of Rec, for the nature of the sequel demands an explanation, which widens the possession/religious arc for Rec 2. However, several surprises surface in Rec 2’s narrative, and multiple camera perspectives include each SWAT member having their own head camera, and a group of teens that tamper their way into the building. The directors cite Aliens as a model for crafting Rec 2, and it’s evident—but in a good way. Quick and dirty, there’s no shortage of excellent thrills in the same vein as the horrific ending of the first film. While I’m not usually the type to champion sequels, Plaza and Balaguero are more than welcome to attempt a Rec 3 since Rec 2 is definitely a must see.
Tags: Atom Egoyan, Chloe, Isabelle Huppert, Johnnie To, Johnny Hallyday, Juame Balaguero, Julianne Moore, Paco Plaza, Rec 2, Sean Byrne, The Loved Ones, Vengeance, White Material