The 10 must-see movies for the fall season
The groaning fall banquet is found not just on the Thanksgiving dinner table.
It’s also at the movies, where big studios and small indie firms alike save much of their best work in anticipation of awards season glory and festive family outings.
There will be dozens of big-ticket releases in the weeks up to year’s end, ranging from literary adaptations ( Inferno, The Girl on the Train), sci-fi adventures ( Passengers, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), a new J.K. Rowling franchise ( Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) and even a superhero movie ( Doctor Strange).
But here I’d like to focus on 10 fall films that I’m most keen on, many of which won’t have colossal promotional campaigns to trumpet their worth.
I’ve seen all but two of the films on this list, most of which recently screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, and I’m eager to see all of them again.
The two I’ve yet to view — Gold and Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk — have great buzz and filmmaking pedigrees to recommend them.
I’ve listed my picks in order of release dates: Moonlight (Oct. 28): Abandon all stereotypes as Barry Jenkins explores African-American masculinity with a sensitive eye and compassionate soul. Set in 1980s Miami, the film tracks the struggle for identity and basic survival of odd man out Chiron, who is played by a trio of empathetic actors from childhood to adulthood. Few words are expressed, but few are needed, the camera catching many meaningful details. Special praise for Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris, supporting characters who truly lead. Gimme Danger (Nov. 4): Lust for life in Jim Jarmusch’s affectionate doc on Iggy Pop and the Stooges, rockers by choice and punks by accident. It doesn’t pretend to be the definitive statement on the band or punk or rock ’n’ roll, just a brainy and funny look at how a Michigan kid named James Osterberg turned into bare-chested wild man Iggy Pop, famous for tunes like “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and “No Fun,” guaranteed to turn any sock hop into a parental nightmare. Arrival (Nov. 11): Squidlike visitors from another world arrive on Earth in stretched oval spacecraft, with their own version of must-see TV behind glowing screens. Are they here to watch and be watched, or are their plans sinister? Amy Adams is the expert linguist tasked with deciphering intent, on both sides of the cosmic divide. Denis Villeneuve’s reflective and awe-inspiring adaptation of Ted Chiang’s brainy sci-fi quests for connection on the nature of being, no matter where you call home. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (Nov. 11): A new movie by Life of Pi’s Ang Lee would be worth anticipating even without experiencing it in the 120 frames per second format touted as the Next Big Thing in movie realism. This one is potentially the Coming Home or The Deer Hunter of Iraq War films, as newcomer Joe Alwyn struggles to reconcile terrible battlefield memories with the artifice and disillusionment of an overheated homecoming. Kristen Stewart, Chris Tucker and Garrett Hedlund co-star. Manchester by the Sea (Nov. 25): Balancing tragedy and humour in Casey Affleck’s soulful arc of a bro- ken family man, drama master Kenneth Lonergan’s Sundance sensation touches the heart with devastating impact. Multiple Oscar nods beckon, with Affleck deserving serious Best Actor consideration as Chandler, a taciturn Boston handyman coping with a sudden family death. And while this is a very maleoriented picture, Michelle Williams’s role as Chandler’s ex-wife is just as memorable. Things to Come (Dec. 2): The amazing Isabelle Huppert is going to get much deserved attention when her rape-revenge Cannes hit Elle arrives Nov. 18, making her Paul Verhoeven’s latest femme fatale. But I was more impressed by her in this considerably quieter film, written and directed by the acclaimed Mia Hansen-Love, in which Huppert plays a workaholic philosophy teacher who finds herself unmoored when personal relationships suddenly unravel. Don’t miss another chance to appreciate Huppert. La La Land (Dec. 9): A musical ode to chasing your dreams that also counts the cost of ambition, wrapped in a candy-coloured salute to L.A. and the movies. Ryan Gosling’s earnest jazzman and Emma Stone’s eager thespian enchant as scrappy lovers and astral trippers, singing and dancing through this unabashed kiss by Damien Chazelle ( Whiplash) to cinema of the heart and soul. This TIFF People’s Choice winner is also a likely Oscar con- tender, as the academy will surely swoon to La La’s beguiling magic. Lion (Dec. 9): When 5-year-old Indian boy Saroo (Sunny Pawar) is stranded in Kolkata, his rescue and adoption by an Australian couple provides love, but dims the chance that he’ll ever see his birth family again. When the child grows to adulthood, now played by Dev Patel, the wide eye of Google Earth offers new hope. Rarely does a film plotting the Internet amount to much more than a series of glowing screens. This true story and auspicious feature debut by Garth Davis is a captivating exception. Nocturnal Animals (Dec. 9): Hollywood ice meets Texas fire in Tom Ford’s commanding second film, a sinewy revenge noir that folds story within story with unsettling impact. Amy Adams plays an L.A. art gallery owner whose uneasy relationship with her ex-husband (Jake Gyllenhaal) is challenged by a road-terror novel he’s written that unfolds like pulp fiction but may have some basis in fact. Michael Shannon co-stars as a lawman with a mysterious agenda. The TIFF 2016 film I most want to see again. Gold (Dec. 25): The glittering heart of darkness — and possibly another Oscar nomination — beckons for Matthew McConaughey. He plays a desperate treasure hunter whose quest for gold leads him to jungles both real and metaphorical. The trailer suggests an insane cross between an Indiana Jones movie and The Wolf of Wall Street. It’s directed and co-written by Traffic writer Stephen Gaghan, whose last feature was the oily intrigue Syriana in 2005. Co-stars Edgar Ramirez and Bryce Dallas Howard. Peter Howell is the Star’s movie critic. His column usually runs Fridays.