TIFF 2019: Ordinary Love

Ordinary Love stars Lesley Manville and Liam Neeson as Joan and Tom, a middle-aged couple in Northern Ireland who deal with the discovery that Joan has breast cancer. The death of their daughter years before seems to have brought them closer together, but also perhaps made them isolated from others, as we see no signs of any friends or family as they deal with the illness.

The title is very apt. We see two people who really love each other, but the film focuses on the very ordinary aspects of their lives, even as they deal with the ordeal of cancer diagnosis and treatment. It is also an ordinary story, as so many in the audience would have been touched by cancer. Both lead performances were outstanding, and the story felt very real. The subject matter is serious and frightening, but humour is present throughout, and the love they feel for each other is obvious even though it's never said out loud.

TIFF 2019 Overview

TIFF 2019: The Rest of Us

The Rest of Us reminded me a little of Stepmom. It's the story is an ex-wife who takes  her ex-husband's wife and daughter in when they find themselves suddenly homeless. We start out with a lot of hatred, resentment and conflict, and over the course of the film the various characters sort out their issues, find common ground, and reach new understandings of each other and themselves. It's not so deep or complicated, but it works. The performances are wonderful, and North Bay is a nicer setting for it than I would have guessed. Recommended!

TIFF 2019 Overview

TIFF 2019: The Goldfinch

The Goldfinch is based on the best-selling novel by Donna Tartt, and stars Baby Driver's Ansel Elgort as Theo Decker, orphaned at age 13 by a tragedy that follows him the rest of his life. The film is very faithful to the book, following Theo through a series of living situations, some nourishing and some not so much. There is a bit of a jumbling of the timeline that I did not see much motivation for, but overall the film felt just right to me, and the characters looked and behaved exactly as I expected. While some of the performances were reserved, I thought those worked, and provided contrast to the characters that were a little more over the top. I really liked this one a lot, and recommend it.

TIFF 2019 Overview