"My schedule was so full that when Nomadland director Chloé Zhao guided the audience through a breathing exercise before the premiere of her latest film, Hamnet, I noticed how fast my heart was beating-a result of all the caffeine I'd ingested to stay awake. But the upside of long days spent going from screening to screening means a fresh watchlist for the season. Below are 14 of my favorite movies, most of which will arrive in theaters before the end of the year."
"But the film, written and directed by Benny Safdie, is a sensitive, even melancholy look at how an aging athlete comes to accept defeat with the help of those around him. The Smashing Machine traces three years in Kerr's career, when his talents had begun to wane but his instincts still pushed him to focus on numbing the pain of his wounds. Johnson's performance is raw and tender; it's a revelation for the former wrestler, best known for playing near-invincible lawmen, superheroes, and demigods."
The Toronto International Film Festival lineup spans diverse genres, from an existential Moroccan desert thriller to a whodunit-cum-crisis-of-faith and a musical about the Shaker movement. Long festival days and caffeine-fueled fatigue were apparent when Nomadland director Chloé Zhao guided a pre-premiere breathing exercise before Hamnet. Fourteen standout films are highlighted for the upcoming season. Benny Safdie's The Smashing Machine subverts sports-biopic conventions, depicting aging wrestler Mark Kerr (played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) with sensitivity and melancholy over three career years, and showcasing a raw, tender performance from Johnson. Filmmaker Raoul Peck follows his James Baldwin exploration with a new project probing George Orwell's work.
Read at The Atlantic
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