You’ve heard about Widows opening the fest. You’ve seen the preview for First Man a hundred times. You’ve even started reading If Beale Street Could Talk so you can be the first on your block to talk about how Barry Jenkins captures the essence of James Baldwin better than any other filmmaker. Even then, you’ve barely scratched the surface of all the excellent films playing at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, which gets started on Thursday. We’ll be on hand throughout the festival with reviews and reactions, but first, here are six films premiering at TIFF that we’re super excited about.
Destroyer
It’s been a bit since we’ve heard from director Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body, The Invitation), but her latest — a dark-as-all-hell crime drama starring Nicole Kidman and Sebastian Stan — seems to be well worth the wait. Destroyer is about an LAPD detective (Kidman) who once, at the start of her career, infiltrated a gang, and is haunted by what happened during her time with them. But you know what they say about the past: It isn’t even past yet, so when the gang’s leader emerges from hiding, she’ll have to go through the remaining members man by man in order to right their wrongs. It’s yet another boundary-pushing role for Kidman, and we’re absolutely ecstatic to see the fruits of her (and Kusama’s) labors.
