I kicked off TIFF42 last night with a pair of films at the Winter Garden theatre. In one of those coincidental occurrences, both films dealt with tragedy although the approach taken for each was very different.
The kick-off film was "On Chesil Beach", based on a novel by Ian McEwan (he also wrote the screenplay). The film shows the first night of a young married couple on their honeymoon, played by Saorise Ronan and Billy Wolfe. Through flashbacks, the characters of the two are revealed, along with how their family histories have moulded them in ways that will make the marriage a problem. The failure to meet their own expectations ends in tears and different paths are taken.
It was followed by "loveless", the new film by Andrey Zvyagintsev (I saw his last film, "Leviathan" at a previous TIFF). It's similar to "On Chesil Beach" in that it focuses on a couple in crisis. The difference is that the marriage has also produced a young boy, who is 12 when the film opens. Their marriage has already disintegrated and a divorce is imminent, although there are complications. When the boy disappears, it drives additional wedges into their tense relationship.
Both films display their settings with a stark beauty, although the Dorset countryside is a more traditional one ("Loveless" finds its beauty in the decaying environment of a Russian city). "Chesil" feels a little like a theatrical play transferred to film, the two leads struggling at times to overcome the stainless of the material. In the end, though, they are able to overcome this and create compelling portraits of two people in love, but who are not sure what that really means for them.
Loveless is a much more visceral and grittier affair and its pacing is masterful. As a result, the tragedy of the film hits harder. The leads are equally strong but there is little if nothing to like about them. The ending suggests that history may be about to repeat for them, although the players are different.
All in all, a good start to 11 days of film.
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