TIFF 2017 Scorecard

Critics Consensus: Brawl in Cell Block 99 rides a committed Vince Vaughn performance into the brutally violent -- and undeniably entertaining -- depths of prison-set grindhouse genre fare.

Synopsis: A former boxer loses his job as an auto mechanic, and his troubled marriage is about to expire. At this crossroads in his life, he... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Marc Blucas

Directed By: S. Craig Zahler

Critics Consensus: Led by strong work from Margot Robbie and Alison Janney, I, Tonya finds the humor in its real-life story without losing sight of its more tragic -- and emotionally resonant -- elements.

Synopsis: In 1991, talented figure skater Tonya Harding becomes the first American woman to complete a triple axel during a competition. In 1994, her world comes... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Julianne Nicholson

Directed By: Craig Gillespie

Critics Consensus: Lady Bird delivers fresh insights about the turmoil of adolescence -- and reveals writer-director Greta Gerwig as a fully formed filmmaking talent.

Synopsis: A teenager (Saoirse Ronan) navigates a loving but turbulent relationship with her strong-willed mother (Laurie Metcalf) over the course of an eventful and poignant senior... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Timothée Chalamet, Lucas Hedges

Directed By: Greta Gerwig

Critics Consensus: Subtle and tender, A Fantastic Woman handles its timely, sensitive subject matter with care.

Synopsis: A transgender singer faces scorn and discrimination after the sudden death of her older boyfriend.

Starring: Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes, Luis Gnecco, Aline Küppenheim

Directed By: Sebastián Lelio

Critics Consensus: Disobedience explores a variety of thought-provoking themes, bolstered by gripping work from leads Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, and Alessandro Nivola.

Synopsis: New York photographer Ronit Krushka flies to London after learning about the death of her estranged father. Ronit is returning to the same Orthodox Jewish... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, Alessandro Nivola, Anton Lesser

Directed By: Sebastián Lelio

Critics Consensus: Foxtrot uses topical themes to deliver a bruising sociopolitical statement that's equally effective taken simply as an absorbing, well-acted drama.

Synopsis: A knock on the door leads to unfathomable grief as a man and his wife learn that their son died in the line of duty... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler, Gefen Barkai, Dekel Adin

Directed By: Samuel Maoz

Critics Consensus: Sweet Country makes brilliant use of the Australian outback as the setting for a hard-hitting story that satisfies as a character study as well as a sociopolitical statement.

Synopsis: An Aboriginal man from the Northern Territory goes on the run after he kills a white man in self-defence in the 1920s.

Starring: Bryan Brown, Matt Day, Tremayne Doolan, Anni Finsterer

Directed By: Warwick Thornton

Critics Consensus: I Am Not a Witch approaches real-life injustices with a beguiling blend of sorrow, anger, and humor, marking debuting writer-director Rungano Nyoni as an exciting new talent.

Synopsis: Shula is the first child taken to a traveling witch camp, where she is told that should she cut the ribbon and attempt to escape,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Maggie Mulubwa, Nancy Murilo, Henry B.J. Phiri, Nellie Munamonga

Directed By: Rungano Nyoni

Critics Consensus: Mom and Dad's gonzo premise serves as an effective springboard for a wickedly dark, bloody comedy - and an appropriately over-the-top performance from Nicolas Cage.

Synopsis: A teenage girl and her little brother try to survive a wild 24 hours during which a mass hysteria of unknown origins causes parents to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Selma Blair, Anne Winters, Zackary Arthur

Directed By: Brian Taylor

Critics Consensus: The Insult uses its familiar courtroom drama framework to deliver a hard-hitting statement on modern Middle Eastern politics that's as gripping as it is thought-provoking.

Synopsis: A minor incident between a Lebanese Christian and a Palestinian refugee turns into an explosive trial that ends up dividing the two communities.

Starring: Adel Karam, Kamel El Basha, Camille Salameh, Diamand Bou Abboud

Directed By: Ziad Doueiri

Critics Consensus: Félicité depicts a culture and a setting unfamiliar to many viewers, but its themes - and Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu's performance - transcend borders.

Synopsis: Félicité is a Congolese singer who desperately needs money after her 14-year-old son Samo suffers a serious accident. She soon finds financial and emotional support... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu, Papi Mpaka, Gaetan Claudia, Nadine Ndebo

Directed By: Alain Gomis

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Taxi drivers share stories from their night shift.

Starring: Vasil Banov, Ivan Barnev, Assen Blatechki, Stefan Denolyubov

Directed By: Stephan Komandarev

Critics Consensus: Equal parts breezily charming and poignantly powerful, Faces Places is a unique cross-generational portrait of life in rural France from the great Agnès Varda.

Synopsis: Director Agnès Varda and photographer and muralist JR journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.

Starring: Agnès Varda, JR

Directed By: Agnès Varda, JR

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A chronicle of The Tragically Hip's 2016 tour.

Starring: Gord Downie, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair, Bobby Baker

Directed By: Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier

Critics Consensus: Ex Libris: The New York Public Library adds another remarkable chapter to documentarian Frederick Wiseman's career-long quest for observational excellence.

Synopsis: Filmmakers delve into the New York Public Library, discovering a world of devoted bibliophiles and beneficiaries across 92 branches.

Starring: Ta-Nehisi Coates, Elvis Costello, Richard Dawkins, Patti Smith

Directed By: Frederick Wiseman

Critics Consensus: Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami takes an unconventional approach to the rock biopic, resulting in a compelling experience for fans and an intriguing, albeit confusing, primer for novices.

Synopsis: Electrifying concert performances and intimate, personal footage showcase the life and talent of singer and actress Grace Jones.

Starring: Grace Jones

Directed By: Sophie Fiennes

Critics Consensus: The Shape of Water finds Guillermo del Toro at his visually distinctive best -- and matched by an emotionally absorbing story brought to life by a stellar Sally Hawkins performance.

Synopsis: Elisa is a mute, isolated woman who works as a cleaning lady in a hidden, high-security government laboratory in 1962 Baltimore. Her life changes forever... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer

Directed By: Guillermo del Toro

Critics Consensus: Call Me by Your Name offers a melancholy, powerfully affecting portrait of first love, empathetically acted by Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer.

Synopsis: It's the summer of 1983, and precocious 17-year-old Elio Perlman is spending the days with his family at their 17th-century villa in Lombardy, Italy. He... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar

Directed By: Luca Guadagnino

Critics Consensus: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri deftly balances black comedy against searing drama -- and draws unforgettable performances from its veteran cast along the way.

Synopsis: After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter's murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Lucas Hedges

Directed By: Martin McDonagh

Critics Consensus: Mudbound offers a well-acted, finely detailed snapshot of American history whose scenes of rural class struggle resonate far beyond their period setting.

Synopsis: Set in the rural American South during World War II, Dee Rees' Mudbound is an epic story of two families pitted against one another by... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige

Directed By: Dee Rees

Critics Consensus: The Florida Project offers a colorfully empathetic look at an underrepresented part of the population that proves absorbing even as it raises sobering questions about modern America.

Synopsis: Set in the shadow of the most magical place on Earth, 6-year-old Moonee and her two best friends forge their own adventures, while Moonee's struggling... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, Valeria Cotto

Directed By: Sean Baker

Critics Consensus: Moving without resorting to melodrama, BPM offers an engrossing look at a pivotal period in history that lingers long after the closing credits roll.

Synopsis: Nathan is a young man who joins an AIDS activist group in 1990s Paris. As he attends the weekly meetings, he learns that some members... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Arnaud Valois, Adèle Haenel, Antoine Reinartz

Directed By: Robin Campillo

Critics Consensus: Stronger rises on the power of its well-chosen ensemble to offer an emotionally resonant fact-based story that transcends inspirational drama clichés.

Synopsis: Jeff Bauman loses both of his legs when two bombs explode during the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. After regaining consciousness in the hospital,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Clancy Brown

Directed By: David Gordon Green

Critics Consensus: The Death of Stalin finds director/co-writer Arnando Iannucci in riotous form, bringing his scabrous political humor to bear on a chapter in history with painfully timely parallels.

Synopsis: When tyrannical dictator Joseph Stalin dies in 1953, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to become the next Soviet leader. Among... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Jeffrey Tambor, Paddy Considine

Directed By: Armando Iannucci

Critics Consensus: The Rider's hard-hitting drama is only made more effective through writer-director Chloé Zhao's use of untrained actors to tell the movie's fact-based tale.

Synopsis: After a riding accident leaves him unable to compete on the rodeo circuit, a young cowboy searches for a new purpose.

Starring: Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau, Lane Scott

Directed By: Chloé Zhao

Critics Consensus: Oh, hai Mark. The Disaster Artist is a surprisingly poignant and charming movie-about-a-movie that explores the creative process with unexpected delicacy.

Synopsis: The incredible true story of aspiring filmmaker and Hollywood outsider Tommy Wiseau as he and his best friend defiantly pursue their dreams and embark on... View Full Synopsis

Starring: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Zac Efron

Directed By: James Franco

Critics Consensus: Brought to life by delicate work from writer-director Paul Schrader and elevated by a standout performance by Ethan Hawke, First Reformed takes a sensitive and suspenseful look at weighty themes.

Synopsis: The pastor of a small church in upstate New York spirals out of control after a soul-shaking encounter with an unstable environmental activist and his... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, Philip Ettinger, Cedric the Entertainer

Directed By: Paul Schrader

Critics Consensus: Powered by an intriguing story and a pair of outstanding performances from Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba, Molly's Game marks a solid debut for writer-director Aaron Sorkin.

Synopsis: The true story of Molly Bloom, a beautiful, young, Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Michael Cera, Kevin Costner

Directed By: Aaron Sorkin