TIFF 2021: 'I'm Your Man' | 'The Survivor' | 'Quickening' (Reviews)
I'M YOUR MAN
Putting the ''A'' and ''I'' in relationship is director Maria Schrader's latest and Germany's Oscar entry for 2021: I'm Your Man (Ich bin dein Mensch originally in German). Maren Eggert co-stars as scientist named Alma who starts a trial run of examining a cyborg called Tom (Dan Stevens) that is created to be the perfect, synthetic romantic partner based on exact preferences of Alma's. It just happens that Alma was approached to do this as part of her work and not because she's enthusiastic about the idea, leading her also to examine her own interactions as Tom tries to fit in to her world by learning from interactions between the two of them.
Fuelled by plenty of charm and tonally sound approach to rom-com-ness of it all, I'm Your Man's story seems very basic on the surface but thankfully ventures a bit further than that as it goes along. There's a real crowd-pleasing aspect to it as there's enough humour for anyone to participate in the film's conversation about relationships, humanity and longing, while also not relying solely on those comedic beats. Alma's work and research offer a window to see why she isn't all that excited about synthetic partners; however her family life that takes a solid 20 minutes of the movie, isn't all that thoughtful or impactful which seems like a small misstep in Alma's journey.
Even with those weaker parts, Eggert emotes the character's hesitation and resisting well while creating solid chemistry with her co-lead. Roles involving A.I. are tricky to make feel ''alive'' but Stevens manages to do that against all odds, dramatically in scenes with Eggert while bringing that appreciated levity when alone on the screen. While you might wish for another layer in the characters or something special in the film's technical side, it's an extremely easy watch because it isn't just about the premise.
Smileys: Story, Dan Stevens
Frowneys: Minor issues with characterisation
3.5/5
THE SURVIVOR
Imagine that you're given an assignment to piece together and stylise something that is just bait for awards and you might come up exactly with same framework that Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson is doing with his newest in The Survivor. Ben Foster portrays Harry Haft, a Polish-born professional boxer in 1940s after surviving Auschwitz concentration camps, partly for boxing other inmates in fights where losers faced immediate death. The movie goes back in forth between disturbing flashbacks to the camps and Haft's later life with his boxing career, family life and finding out if his former girlfriend Leah (Dar Zuzovsky) also made it out alive from Poland.
Haft's story is remarkable to say the least and while the film might not keep it together as remarkably, it's a hard one to necessarily dislike because the ambition can certainly be felt. It's really just casting of Foster and other supporting actors that breaks the cinematic glass in front of that story, which then makes the journey hard to swallow. As admirable Foster's transformation for the role can be, you still need to consider the fact that Haft was a teen when he was captured by Nazis and in his mid 20s when boxing, while Foster looks a whole generation (or even two) older no matter his weight.
Much of the character's later life with his losses and temper is similarly unreachable to a viewer, again going back to Foster because it doesn't seem that he is on the same wavelength nor seems to be Levinson's direction. One thing that can keep you going with a character who is hard to understand, is the search for Leah and that storyline wraps up nicely in the film's finale. It's also a scene where you can sense something under the skin of Harry, just a shame that it takes about 100 minutes to get to that point.
Smileys: Ending
Frowneys: Casting, Ben Foster
2.5/5
QUICKENING
Canadian director and writer Haya Waseem's debut feature Quickening unsurprisingly takes viewers to the land of moose, hockey and successful pop stars, where they will meet a Pakistani Canadian teen Sheila (Arooj Azeem) who's going to college studying performance arts. Her school life leads her meeting her first love, losing her virginity with the boy before the relationship quickly ends much to Sheila's disappointment. She ends up going head-to-head with her own expectations, mental and physical health while stressful home life with her parents (Bushra Azeem as mom, Ashir Azeem as dad) also weighs her down.
Before getting into the nitty-gritty, it must come with a caution that this movie is seemingly going for a very niche audience (most likely including those who have studied performance arts), and that it can be hard to dissect everything if you're not part of that group. What is clear is that Waseem does a good job with her actors, the performances being very natural and even going back and forth with English and Urdu language is quite smooth. Most of the things going on in the set seem casual, giving the material some room to breathe sometimes.
On the other side, anything that doesn't really include the cast looks and sounds off in many ways. Overall look of Quickening is over-dramatic and funereal as cinematographer Christopher Lew's contribution to that isn't aligned with characters or dialogue, stretching Waseem's tone way too far; it looks more like your Vimeo showreel than a drama about youth. Similarly misguided is Spencer Creaghan's music which appears in the film as if it's being pulled from a space opera without ever considering the rooms or environment that characters are in. Other aspects like lighting and sound mixing add to the performative output that can look cool to some but will likely just keep you away from Sheila.
Smileys: Directing had its moments
Frowneys: Tone, score, cinematography
1.5/5
