TAGGED AS: festivals, Film Festival, movies, toronto
(Photo by Amazon)
The Toronto International Film Festival 2022 Movie Scorecard
See every movie playing at TIFF that’s getting enough reviews for a Tomatometer! The fest is opening with Sally El Hosaini’s The Swimmers and will close with Mary Harron’s Daliland, with TIFF Tribue Awards going to Brendan Fraser for The Whale, director Sam Mendes and his Empire of Light, and acting ensemble award recognition for the entire cast of My Policeman. Major name directors debuting new films include Martin McDonagh (back after his Best Picture-nominated Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri with The Banshees of Inisherin), Peter Farrelly (after winning Best Picture with Green Book, he’s going on The Greatest Beer Run Ever), Steven Spielberg (re-creating his youth in The Fabelmans), Rian Johnson (extending Knives Out with sequel Glass Onion), and Gina Prince-Bythewood, delivering a historical action epic with The Woman King. We’ll be updating the list with the newest Tomatometer-christened films until TIFF’s close on September 18th. —Alex Vo
#1
Critics Consensus: Featuring some of Martin McDonagh's finest work and a pair of outstanding lead performances, The Banshees of Inisherin is a finely crafted feel-bad treat.
Synopsis: Set on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN follows lifelong friends Pádraic and
[More]
#2
Critics Consensus: R.M.N.'s spare, elegant approach lends a deceptively cool surface to its caustic take on cultural divisions.
Synopsis: Award-winning director Cristian Mungiu's (4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days) gripping portrait of ethnic and economic resentments tearing at the
[More]
#3
Critics Consensus: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is a bone-deep look at a photographer's fight against addiction and the institution responsible for her pain through her gritty lens.
Synopsis: Directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is an epic, emotional and interconnected story
[More]
#4
Critics Consensus: A delightfully unique tribute to the transporting power of cinema, Leonor Will Never Die marks director/co-writer Martika Ramirez Escobar as a talent to watch.
Synopsis: Leonor Reyes was once a major player in the Filipino film industry after creating a string of successful action films,
[More]
#5
Critics Consensus: A gut-punching contemplation of a woman's immigrant experience, Saint Omer puts a mother on the stand and the audience in the jury box to find humanity in the inhumane.
Synopsis: Saint-Omer court of law. Young novelist Rama attends the trial of Laurence Coly, a young woman accused of killing her
[More]
#6
Critics Consensus: With stunning honesty that's achingly bittersweet, Joyland tackles gender and sexual fluidity in a repressed patriarchal society with wisps of hopefulness.
Synopsis: The Ranas--a happily patriarchal joint family--yearn for the birth of a baby boy to continue the family line. Their youngest
[More]
#7
Critics Consensus: Sensitively attuned to its protagonist's quest, Return to Seoul uses one woman's story to explore universal truths about the human condition.
Synopsis: On an impulse to reconnect with her origins, Freddie, 25, returns to South Korea for the first time, where she
[More]
#8
Critics Consensus: Other People's Children perceptively explores motherhood outside traditional biological confines and delivers sobering truths with an ample side of levity.
Synopsis: Rachel is 40 years old, with no children. She loves her life: her high school students, her friends, her ex,
[More]
#9
Critics Consensus: Bridging times past with issues that are still current, Blue Jean resonates intellectually and emotionally thanks to thoughtful direction and authentic performances.
Synopsis: England, 1988 -- Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government is about to pass a law stigmatizing gays and lesbians, forcing Jean, a
[More]
#10
Critics Consensus: Distinguished by a naturalistic approach that's enriched by strong work from an ensemble heavy with first-time actors, Under the Fig Trees explores a world of ideas in the span of a single day.
Synopsis: On a hot summer day, a crew of workers -- men and women, young and old -- arrive at dawn
[More]
#12
Critics Consensus: Director João Pedro Rodrigues lures audiences into bewitchingly surreal territory with Will-o'-the-Wisp, a genre-bending collision of style and substance.
Synopsis: On his deathbed, his royal highness Alfredo, King without a crown, is taken back to distant youth memories and the
[More]
#13
Critics Consensus: A love story shaped by some surprising contours, The Blue Caftan surveys the hidden heart with compassion and grace.
Synopsis: Halim and Mina run a traditional caftan store in one of Morocco's oldest medinas. In order to keep up with
[More]
#14
Critics Consensus: No Bears bears witness to Jafar Panahi's incisive filmmaking while urging viewers to examine the complex layers of a deceptively simple story: a man oppressed and suppressed by his country.
Synopsis: NO BEARS portrays two parallel love stories. In both, the lovers are troubled by hidden, inevitable obstacles, the force of
[More]
#15
Critics Consensus: Moody, sensitive, and subtly layered, Falcon Lake captures the intoxicating horror of young love.
Synopsis: A shy teenager on a summer vacation experiences the joy and pain of young adulthood when he forges an unlikely
[More]
#16
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: It is summer in a small village in south-eastern Spain. A storm threatens to cause the river that runs through
[More]
#17
Critics Consensus: As a time capsule, Casa Susanna captures a trans community in need of a home to thrive in while expanding, albeit narrowly, on queer history.
Synopsis: In the 1950s and ‘60s, an underground network of transgender women and cross-dressing men found refuge at a modest house
[More]
#18
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A film shooting will take place at the cité Picasso, in the suburbs of Boulogne-Sur-Mer, in the north of France.
[More]
#19
Critics Consensus: A sweet, well-rounded coming-of-age story, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe adapts its source material with tenderness and care.
Synopsis: Resentful at the world, 15-year-old Aristotle Mendoza wants to blend in and be left alone, but the summer he meets
[More]
#20
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In 2022, Mantas Kvedaravičius went back to Ukraine, in the Donbass, at the heart of the war, to be with
[More]
#21
Critics Consensus: Sensitive and insightful, Plan 75 uses its sci-fi setting to explore our relationship with death -- and what it really means to live.
Synopsis: In a near dystopian future, Japan's government launches PLAN 75, a program encouraging the elderly to terminate their own lives
[More]
#22
Critics Consensus: Both timely and timeless, All Quiet on the Western Front retains the power of its classic source material by focusing on the futility of war.
Synopsis: All Quiet on the Western Front tells the gripping story of a young German soldier on the Western Front of
[More]
#23
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Brazil, 2022. In a remote area in São Paulo's countryside, a rural family who lives beside a charcoal factory accepts
[More]
#24
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Dreaming of a better life, Ali makes a precarious living selling contraband gas on the streets of Tunisia. Forced to
[More]
#26
Critics Consensus: Deeply felt and emotionally resonant, Brother overcomes its imposing length and a certain narrative familiarity with riveting performances and stunning cinematography.
Synopsis: Adapted from David Chariandy's award-winning novel of the same name, Brother is propelled by the pulsing beats of Toronto's early
[More]
#27
Critics Consensus: Living sets a high bar for itself in setting out to remake a Kurosawa classic -- and director Oliver Hermanus and star Bill Nighy clear it in triumphant fashion.
Synopsis: LIVING is the story of an ordinary man, reduced by years of oppressive office routine to a shadow existence, who
[More]
#28
Critics Consensus: Part memoir, part ode to the power of the movies, The Fabelmans finds Steven Spielberg digging at the family roots that helped make him a beloved filmmaker -- and proves he hasn't lost his magic touch.
Synopsis: Young Sammy Fabelman falls in love with movies after his parents take him to see "The Greatest Show on Earth."
[More]
#29
Critics Consensus: Led by Frankie Corio's tremendous performance, Aftersun deftly ushers audiences to the intersection between our memories of loved ones and who they really are.
Synopsis: At a fading vacation resort, 11-year-old Sophie treasures rare time together with her loving and idealistic father, Calum (Paul Mescal).
[More]
#30
Critics Consensus: Corsage puts a refreshingly irreverent spin on period biopic formulas, further elevated by Vicky Krieps' terrific turn in the central role.
Synopsis: Empress Elizabeth of Austria is idolized for her beauty and renowned for inspiring fashion trends. But in 1877, 'Sissi' celebrates
[More]
#31
EO
(2022)
96%
Critics Consensus: Bravely updating Bresson with brilliant results, EO is a donkey-driven drama that'll stubbornly stick with you long after the credits roll.
Synopsis: The world is a mysterious place when seen through the eyes of an animal. EO, a grey donkey with melancholic
[More]
#32
Critics Consensus: Suitably silly, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story spoofs the standard biopic formula with all the good-natured abandon fans will expect.
Synopsis: Daniel Radcliffe is "Weird Al" Yankovic in the unexaggerated true story about the greatest musician and sex symbol of our
[More]
#33
Critics Consensus: Narratively sparse and visually vast, Pacifiction is a tsunami of a political thriller that philosophically rewards those willing to weather it.
Synopsis: On the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, the High Commissioner of the Republic and French government official DE ROLLER is
[More]
#34
Critics Consensus: All hail Viola Davis! The Woman King rules.
Synopsis: The Woman King is the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom
[More]
#35
Critics Consensus: Finely wrought to a fault, One Fine Morning presents a subtle, well-acted look at life and love.
Synopsis: Sandra, a young mother who raises her daughter alone, pays regular visits to her sick father. While she and her
[More]
#36
Critics Consensus: The Good Nurse is hobbled by stilted dialogue and unrealistic story elements, but those issues are offset by strong work from a pair of talented leads.
Synopsis: Suspicious that her colleague is responsible for a series of mysterious patient deaths, a nurse risks her own life to
[More]
#37
Critics Consensus: Bros marks a step forward in rom-com representation -- and just as importantly, it's a whole bunch of fun to watch.
Synopsis: Universal Pictures proudly presents the first romantic comedy from a major studio about two gay men maybe, possibly, probably, stumbling
[More]
#38
Critics Consensus: Boasting visual marvels to match its ambitious and inclusive story, Wendell & Wild is a spooky treat for budding horror fans.
Synopsis: From the delightfully wicked minds of Henry Selick and Jordan Peele, comes Wendell & Wild, an animated tale about scheming
[More]
#39
Critics Consensus: An audiovisual treat for Bowie fans, Moonage Daydream takes an appropriately distinctive approach to one of modern music's most mercurial artists.
Synopsis: MOONAGE DAYDREAM: a cinematic odyssey exploring Bowie's creative, spiritual and musical journey. From the visionary mind of Brett Morgen, Moonage
[More]
#40
Critics Consensus: Led by Anna Diop's strong central performance, the smartly disquieting Nanny is a promising debut for writer-director Nikyatu Jusu.
Synopsis: In this psychological horror fable of displacement, Aisha (Anna Diop), a woman who recently emigrated from Senegal, is hired to
[More]
#41
Critics Consensus: While Women Talking sometimes forsakes entertaining drama in favor of simply getting its points across, its message is valuable -- and effectively delivered.
Synopsis: Do nothing. Stay and fight. Or leave. In 2010, the women of an isolated religious community grapple with reconciling a
[More]
#42
Critics Consensus: Tilda Swinton² is haunting in the gothic ghost story The Eternal Daughter, an ode to familial female ties that leaves much to unravel after the fog lifts.
Synopsis: An artist and her elderly mother confront long-buried secrets when they return to a former family home, now a hotel
[More]
#43
Critics Consensus: Causeway takes a powerfully subdued look at the lingering effects of trauma, led by gripping performances from Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry.
Synopsis: "Causeway" is an intimate portrait of a soldier struggling to adjust to her life after returning home to New Orleans.
[More]
#44
Critics Consensus: Although it's frustratingly clumsy in certain respects, The Inspection is an affecting actors' showcase in service of some truly worthy themes.
Synopsis: In Elegance Bratton's deeply moving film inspired by his own story, a young, gay Black man, rejected by his mother
[More]
#45
Critics Consensus: Necessarily bleak but shot through with moments of humor, the beautifully filmed Godland serves as a gently absorbing meditation on mortality.
Synopsis: In the late 19th century, a young Danish priest travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church
[More]
#46
Critics Consensus: With a bracingly irreverent approach to its story and Emma Mackey bringing Brontë vibrantly to life, Emily is a biopic that manages to feel true while taking entertaining creative liberties.
Synopsis: EMILY imagines Emily Brontë’s own Gothic story that inspired her seminal novel, "Wuthering Heights." Haunted by the death of her
[More]
#47
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Starring newcomer Jamila C. Gray, ON THE COME UP is the story of Bri, a gifted 16-year-old rapper, who attempts
[More]
#48
Critics Consensus: If Decision to Leave isn't quite on the same level as Park Chan-wook's masterpieces, this romantic thriller is still a remarkable achievement by any other metric.
Synopsis: From a mountain peak in South Korea, a man plummets to his death. Did he jump, or was he pushed?
[More]
#49
Critics Consensus: Lengthy title notwithstanding, The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile pays affectionate tribute to the powerful purity of both artists' music.
Synopsis: Trailblazing, hell-raising country music legend Tanya Tucker defied the standards of how a woman in country music was supposed to
[More]
#50
Critics Consensus: A poignant meeting of impassioned filmmaker and fraught historical moment, My Imaginary Country surveys the past with care and greets the future with optimism.
Synopsis: One day, without warning, a revolution exploded. It was the event that 80-year-old master documentarian Patricio Guzmán had been waiting
[More]
#51
Critics Consensus: Holy Spider foregoes subtlety in favor of a viscerally outraged dramatization inspired by appalling actual events.
Synopsis: In HOLY SPIDER, we follow family man Saeed as he embarks on his own religious quest -- to "cleanse" the
[More]
#52
Critics Consensus: Supported by Kelvin Harrison Jr.'s outstanding work in the title role, Chevalier offers an entertaining gateway into the incredible life of a brilliant artist.
Synopsis: Inspired by the incredible true story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. The illegitimate son of an African slave
[More]
#53
Critics Consensus: Equally gross and engrossing, De Humani Corporis Fabrica probes into the flesh with a scalpel to reveal not just the bloody innards but the fabric of our social construct -- and it's quite cathartic.
Synopsis: Five centuries ago, anatomist André Vésale opened up the human body to science for the first time in history. Today,
[More]
#54
Critics Consensus: Pearl finds Ti West squeezing fresh gore out of the world he created with X -- and once again benefiting from a brilliant Mia Goth performance.
Synopsis: Filmmaker Ti West returns with another chapter from the twisted world of X, in this astonishing follow-up to the year's
[More]
#55
Critics Consensus: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery brings back Benoit Blanc for another wildly entertaining mystery rounded out by an outstanding ensemble cast.
Synopsis: Benoit Blanc returns to peel back the layers in a new Rian Johnson whodunit. This fresh adventure finds the intrepid
[More]
#56
Critics Consensus: Broker skirts the edges of sentimentality, but is consistently grounded by Kore-eda Hirokazu's warm, tenderly melancholic approach.
Synopsis: The film follows two brokers who sell orphaned infants, circumventing the bureaucracy of legal adoption, to affluent couples who can't
[More]
#57
Critics Consensus: Nuanced performances and patient, perceptive direction infuse Love Life with a poignant perspective on familial love and the secrets that can endanger it.
Synopsis: Taeko and her husband Jiro are living a peaceful existence with her young son Keita, when a tragic accident brings
[More]
#58
Critics Consensus: While its social commentary relies on basic ingredients, The Menu serves up black comedy with plenty of flavor.
Synopsis: A couple (Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult) travels to a coastal island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the
[More]
#59
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Through the lens of legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog, Theater of Thought takes audiences on a provocative journey into the study
[More]
#60
Critics Consensus: Further distinguished by Virginie Efira's superb performance, Revoir Paris explores trauma's aftermath with devastating tenderness.
Synopsis: After an idyllic date night full of red wine and a late-night motorcycle ride home, Mia (Virginie Efira) stops at
[More]
#61
Critics Consensus: Butcher's Crossing benefits from Nicolas Cage's lead turn, which helps make this largely boilerplate Western more compelling than not.
Synopsis: Based on the seminal novel by John Edward Williams, Gabe Polsky's epic frontier adventure, Butcher's Crossing, is a riveting commentary
[More]
#62
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A young woman undergoes a psychiatric evaluation before her sentencing in an unusual murder trial. But as the tests become
[More]
#63
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: BONES OF CROWS is told through the eyes of Cree Matriarch Aline Spears as she survives a childhood in Canada's
[More]
#64
Critics Consensus: What's Love Got to Do with It? is a standard issue romantic comedy in many respects, but a pair of appealing leads help make this love story more crowd-pleasing than not.
Synopsis: How do you find lasting love in today's world? For documentary-maker and dating app addict Zoe (Lily James), swiping right
[More]
#65
Critics Consensus: Ethan Hawke and Ewan McGregor are almost -- but not quite -- compelling enough to make up for Raymond & Ray's listless narrative.
Synopsis: “Raymond & Ray” follows half-brothers Raymond and Ray who have lived in the shadow of a terrible father. Somehow, they
[More]
#66
Critics Consensus: The atmosphere's absorbing and the story is fascinating, but The Wonder of this period drama really lies in Florence Pugh's remarkable performance.
Synopsis: The Irish Midlands, 1862 -- a young girl stops eating but remains miraculously alive and well. English nurse Lib Wright
[More]
#67
Critics Consensus: Held together by a killer Brendan Fraser, The Whale sings a song of empathy that will leave most viewers blubbering.
Synopsis: A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance
[More]
#68
Critics Consensus: Honoring real-life history while delivering impactful drama, Devotion is a straightforward biopic elevated by standout performances from a talented cast.
Synopsis: Devotion, an aerial war epic based on the bestselling book of the same name, tells the harrowing true story of
[More]
#69
Critics Consensus: There are more illuminating documentaries about space exploration, but that doesn't diminish Good Night Oppy's infectious awe of the cosmos.
Synopsis: Good Night Oppy tells the inspirational true story of Opportunity, a rover that was sent to Mars for a 90-day
[More]
#70
Critics Consensus: Moving On fails frustratingly often to rise to the level of its leads, but Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are entertaining company regardless of the context.
Synopsis: Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin star as estranged friends who reunite to seek revenge on the petulant widower (Malcolm McDowell)
[More]
#71
Critics Consensus: Bringing a beloved book brilliantly to life, Catherine Called Birdy proves a well-told coming-of-age story can feel fresh regardless of the period setting.
Synopsis: The year? 1290. In the Medieval English village of Stonebridge, Lady Catherine (known as Birdy) is the youngest child of
[More]
#72
Critics Consensus: The movie's curiously bland compared to the remarkable real-life story it dramatizes, but Sally Hawkins' performance saves The Lost King from feeling like a royal disappointment.
Synopsis: In this inspiring true story, amateur historian Philippa Langley believes she has made the archeological find of the century: the
[More]
#73
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Directed by Steve Buscemi and starring Tessa Thompson as Beth, a helpline volunteer who is part of the small army
[More]
#74
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In the tropical mountains of Costa Rica, widower Domingo owns a piece of land which is coveted to build a
[More]
#75
Critics Consensus: Susie Searches is clever and frequently fun, although its jumbled tone and increasingly hard-to-believe story undercut overall enjoyment.
Synopsis: How far will a podcaster go to capture her audience? Susie, an awkward college student with a failing true-crime podcast,
[More]
#76
Critics Consensus: Triangle of Sadness lacks the sharp edges of Östlund's earlier work, but this blackly humorous swipe at the obscenely affluent has its own rewards.
Synopsis: In Ruben Östlund's wickedly funny Palme d'Or winner, social hierarchy is turned upside down, revealing the tawdry relationship between power
[More]
#77
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A sweeping tale of forbidden love, A JAZZMAN'S BLUES unspools forty years of secrets and lies soundtracked by juke joint
[More]
#78
Critics Consensus: The Swimmers can be heavy-handed and it's arguably too long, but it handles a worthy topic with generally uplifting results.
Synopsis: Based on a true story, THE SWIMMERS follows the journey from war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics. Two young
[More]
#79
Critics Consensus: Sidney might feel a bit standard compared to its trailblazing subject -- but then again, it'd be all but impossible to capture a life this extraordinary in any single film.
Synopsis: From producer Oprah Winfrey and directed by Reginald Hudlin, this revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier and his legacy
[More]
#80
Critics Consensus: Despite reliably solid work from Laura Dern and Hugh Jackman, The Son remains mired in off-puttingly aggressive melodrama.
Synopsis: A cautionary tale that follows a family as it struggles to reunite after falling apart. THE SON centers on Peter
[More]
#81
Critics Consensus: Empire of Light contains some fine performances and a few flashes of brilliance, but this tribute to the magic of cinema is disappointingly mundane.
Synopsis: Set in an English seaside town in the early 1980s, EMPIRE OF LIGHT is a powerful and poignant story about
[More]
#82
Critics Consensus: Although it frequently forsakes action in favor of a needlessly knotty narrative, Hunt has enough thrills to satisfy more forgiving espionage fans.
Synopsis: After a high-ranking North Korean official requests asylum, KCIA Foreign Unit chief Park Pyong-ho (LEE Jung Jae) and Domestic Unit
[More]
#83
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: ALLELUJAH is a warm and deeply moving story about old age. When the geriatric ward in a small Yorkshire hospital
[More]
#84
Critics Consensus: Far from intoxicating, The Greatest Beer Run Ever reduces its fun fact-based story to a flat, flavorless brew.
Synopsis: To show support for his neighborhood friends serving in Vietnam, Chickie Donohue (Zac Efron) decides to do something totally outrageous:
[More]
#85
Critics Consensus: Mildly arresting in its best moments, My Policeman tends toward the tedious despite the respectable efforts of a capable cast.
Synopsis: A beautifully crafted story of forbidden love and changing social conventions, My Policeman follows three young people -- policeman Tom
[More]
100%
48%
