Screening today
APatch of Fog
(out of 4) Irish media darling Sandy Duffy (Conleth Hill of Game of Thrones) has been dining out for 25 years on his one blockbuster novel in Michael Lennox’s relentless psychological thriller, A Patch of Fog. Wealthy and respected, shoplifting gives Sandy’s predictable life a lift, until downmarket department store security guard Robert ( Boardwalk Empire’s Stephen Graham) nabs him. Sandy reluctantly accepts Robert’s insistence on instant friendship as the price of avoiding public humiliation. But lonely Robert, who is more mercenary than his initial milquetoast demeanour implies, won’t be placated with a few nights at the pub. Hardly a new theme but elevated by solid performances from both actors as their characters struggle to get — and keep — the upper hand. (Scotiabank 4, 9:30 p.m.) Linda Barnard
Dheepan Jacques Audiard’s Palme d’Or winner sears with righteous anger. As one of France’s leading filmmakers, with an empathetic eye for immigrant and outsider narratives — A Prophet and Rust and Bone both attest to this — he recalls David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence, with the rude awakening of a sleeping Tamil Tiger.
Dheepan (Antonythasan Jesuthasan) is a man in a Parisian slum who, in the pursuit of defending his humble family, needs to confront a past he’s trying to forget. While the third act really shows its claws, Audiard’s artistic stripes are plain to see in the dramatic buildup. (Elgin/Visa Screening Room, 9 p.m.) Peter Howell
Mustang Youthful exuberance from five orphaned sisters brings swift retribution from the conservative family raising them in a Turkish coastal town.
Soon school, computers, phones and fun are out, and the house is turned into a fortress “wife factory” as the girls are groomed for wifely duties and arranged marriages sound the knell for freedom. Amid tragedy and exploitation, the youngest rise up. A powerful, memorable film with wonderfully unaffected performances from the female cast. (TIFF Bell Lightbox, 2:45 p.m.) L.B.
Sicario The perils of being a dove in “the land of the wolves” makes Denis Villeneuve’s U.S.-Mexico border drama more than just another violent thriller dominated by men. The “dove” here is Emily Blunt, whose upright Arizona FBI agent Kate Macer is certainly capable of lethal acts — but only those sanctioned by law, something others are quick to ignore. She acts as civilization’s conscience in the Quebec director’s twisting and timely film, which urgently inquires whether using evil to fight evil in the wars on drugs and terrorism is justified or merely expedient. Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro play characters of cloaked intent to perfection. (Princess of Wales, 10 p.m.) P.H.