The 9 best of a TIFF grappling with a world coming apart
This article highlights the best films from the Toronto International Film Festival, focusing on themes of young people navigating a fracturing world. It specifically reviews Jesse Eisenberg's 'The Debut' and Jordan Firstman's 'Club Kid' as standout performances.
Why it matters
TIFF is a major cultural bellwether for the film industry, and identifying these trends helps audiences understand the current zeitgeist in independent cinema.
And like most years, the best of those films seemed to fit a theme. This year, it was characters in a sort of psychic crisis: people — overwhelmingly young people — grappling with a confusing and fracturing world and the feeling they weren't made for it.
To navigate those stories of crying and comedy, we've put together a list of some of the best.
Julianne Moore appears as Mona in The Debut. The Jesse Eisenberg-directed film is off-the-wall, odd and incredible. (NOC Productions Inc. LLC) A kaleidoscopic carnival of comedy and grotesquerie. An unpleasant and fascinating story of self-improvement and self-immolation. Taxi Driver for theatre kids.
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