That's a Wrap, TIFF '19

What a wonderful way to spend eleven days.

TIFF is over for another year and given the unending torrent of shit that is coming our way every single day, I am once again grateful to have had the distraction of the art of filmmaking.

Not every movie that we saw was great. Many were good, some mediocre, and some had stellar performances in otherwise lacklustre films. That said, each and every one was a labour of love for its director. I remain in awe of this form of storytelling and even though a movie might not live up to my expectations, the amount of energy, money, talent, and vision that is expended continues to amaze.

Such was the case with our final screening of TIFF, Steven Soderbergh's The Laundromat. Boasting an all-star cast including the incomparable Meryl Streep, the always chameleonic Gary Oldman, and the ever-charming Antonio Banderas, The Laundromat attempts to unravel and simplify the true to life story of wealth consolidation uncovered in the Panama Papers. Using an odd combination of satire, story vignettes, some fourth-wall-breaking narration, and the simplicity of animation, Soderbergh tries, somewhat in vain, to breakdown the exploitation of the world's financial systems that were used to enrich a few greedy individuals and that was ultimately uncovered through whistleblower testimony by newspapers around the globe. It is a maze of shell companies, insurance frauds, paper wealth that wasn't, and off-shore entities that is as confusing as it sounds and it is truly anger-inducing for anybody who finally has a "Come to Jesus" moment about these financial scams.

Unfortunately, the mess of the financial atrocities uncovered in the Panama Papers is a bit more than even the great Soderbergh can chew in one bite. While the acting is as stellar as one might imagine given the cast, the script is uneven and convoluted. Meryl Streep's enraged "widow on a mission" isn't nearly enough to sustain a storyline that goes off the rails with several subplots that do little to advance the chain of events. While there is a bit of sleight of hand at the end of the film when Soderbergh allows his version of the whistleblower to have his/her say through the voice of one of his characters, it really isn't enough to redeem the rest of the film.

The Laundromat is another Netflix film that will be on a streaming device near you very soon, so there is little downside to watching the movie but I would be hardpressed to give it a full-throated recommendation.

Dawn and The Husband's review of The Laundromat: The Husband would give it a marginal YUP. He definitely liked it more than I did. I would give it an unqualified MEH. Watch at your leisure but don't expect brilliance.

And...That's a wrap for TIFF '19. We screened seven films and while none were terrible, none were particularly memorable either. My favourite was most definitely A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood while Renee Zellweger puts in an unbelievable performance in a very flawed Judy. The People's Choice Award this year went to Jojo Rabbit which will immediately climb to the top of our must-see list. 

Thanks for following. Until next year, TIFF.