Toronto 2024 Movie Reviews: ‘The Nutcracker,’ More

The Toronto Film Festival kicked off on September 5 with a multi-part opening night screening of David Gordon Green’s family comedy The Nutcracker, starring Ben Stiller, kicking off a series of world premieres and high-profile films over the course of 11 days at the 49th edition of one of North America’s largest film festivals.

Other key titles debuting in Toronto include: The happiest man in America starring Paul Walter Hauser, starring Amy Adams Night female dogtheatre guru Marianne Elliott Salt PathDreamWorks Animation Wild Robot and Mike Flanagan Chuck’s Life.

Among the documentaries that will make a splash are: Elton John: It’s never too late AND Paul Anka: His Way.

Click below to read Deadline’s Toronto review, and check back regularly as we add more. The festival ends September 15.

Hello, sadly

Section: Discovery
Director-screenwriter: Durga Chew Bose
To throw: Chloe Sevigny, Claes Bang, Lily McInerny, Nailia Harzoune, Aliocha Schneider, Nathalie Richard
Deadline Summary: This first-time Montreal writer-director Durga Chew Bose takes a closer approach to Françoise Sagan’s novel and becomes a more complex story about the nature of female relationships, the secrets they contain, and their twisted paths.

The happiest man in America

Section: Special presentations
Director: Samir Oliveros
To throw: Paul Walter Hauser, Walton Goggins, Shamier Anderson, David Strathairn, Maisie Williams, Patti Harrison, Johnny Knoxville, Haley Bennett, Shaunette Renee Wilson, Brian Geraghty, Lilli Kay, James Wolk
Deadline Summary: With Hauser at the helm, the entire script keeps us on the edge of our seats thanks to the actor’s ability to inject a modicum of humanity into these oddball characters. You can understand why he couldn’t resist.

Nutcracker

Section: Gala presentations
Director: David Gordon Green
To throw: Ben Stiller, Linda Cardellini, Tim Heidecker, Edi Patterson, Toby Huss, Homer Janson, Ulysses Janson, Atlas Janson, Arlo Janson
Deadline Summary: It’s the kind of movie Hollywood has always delivered but has clearly forgotten how to make—until now. Among the inspirations for director David Gordon Green were Bears Bad News, Six pack, Uncle Buck AND OverboardYou’d expect John Hughes to come back from the dead and, with him, the genre.