Normally each year I start talking about the Oscars in September when the Toronto International Film Festival takes place – it does after all represent the unofficial launch of the award’s campaign season. However this year I’ve been restrained, mostly due to the fact that the front runners (Carol, Joy, The Revenant, Spotlight etc) don’t start hitting our shores until about now. As we launch into week two of our Film Star Face Off, I began contemplating the chances of Ryan Gosling or Michael Fassbender scoring an Oscar nod in 2016. Gosling, has had a quiet year with the release of one film The Big Short, but Fassbender has continued to churn out impressive performances in Macbeth and the upcoming Steve Jobs. The odds are on Fassbender getting a nomination for his role as the entrepreneur, but on Rialto Channel this week you can enjoy one of his early performances in the stunning British film Fish Tank.  

Normally each year I start talking about the Oscars in September when the Toronto International Film Festival takes place – it does after all represent the unofficial launch of the award’s campaign season. However this year I’ve been restrained, mostly due to the fact that the front runners (Carol, Joy, The Revenant, Spotlight etc) don’t start hitting our shores until about now. As we launch into week two of our Film Star Face Off, I began contemplating the chances of Ryan Gosling or Michael Fassbender scoring an Oscar nod in 2016. Gosling, has had a quiet year with the release of one film The Big Short, but Fassbender has continued to churn out impressive performances in Macbeth and the upcoming Steve Jobs. The odds are on Fassbender getting a nomination for his role as the entrepreneur, but on Rialto Channel this week you can enjoy one of his early performances in the stunning British film Fish Tank.  

Tuesday 8^th December… The Returned 

The second series of the supernatural French drama Rebound is called The Returned and it starts six months after the first series finished. For those of you who missed this extraordinary television show first time around, Rebound is a Gallic cross between Twin Peaks and Lost. Set in a small Alpine town near a large dam, the first series focused around the mysterious tale of a group of school kids, killed in a bus crash years earlier that return from the grave and rejoin their families as if nothing has happened. However, it turns out they are not the only dead people to return. More people long dead return, prompting a range of reactions from their loved ones. Series one ends with part of the flooding the town and in series two, the dead just keep on turning up and the locals become even more confused as to how to deal with this phenomenon. Atmospheric, understated and excellently acted, the first season won an International Emmy for Best Drama Series. The second looks to be just as good. 

Friday 11^th December, from 8.30pm…Blue Valentine vs. Fish Tank 

Actress Andrea Arnolds second directorial effort Fish Tank won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2009. A slice of British social realism Fish Tank tells the story of Mia, an angry young woman growing up on a council estate whose life changes when her mother brings home a new boyfriend played by Michael Fassbender. Blue Valentine, the debut feature from director Derek Cianfrance, follows Fish Tank. An authentic look at the complexities of marriage, this gritty drama features excellent performances by Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling, as well as a sophisticated structure that takes us back and forth through time. Neither of these films are terribly uplifting, but their authenticity and superb performances makes it impossible to look away.


 

Saturday 12th December, 8.30pm … Blue Caprice 

Celebrated music video director Alexandre Moors’s debut feature film tells the story of the Beltway sniper attacks that killed 10 people and terrorised the Washington, D.C., area for three weeks in 2002. French by birth but a New York resident since 1998, Moors was drawn to this story, not because of the hysteria John Allen Muhammad and his unofficially adopted son, Lee Boyd Malvo created with their horrific actions, but by their unusual relationship. This psychological drama is told from the perspective of the perpetrators as Moors attempts to show how a good, Catholic kid under the influence of the wrong father figure, could be cajoled into assisting in the brutal murder of innocent people. Performances are top notch, and Moors’ naturalistic style works well giving us a realistic account of events rather than a sensationalised one. This is an impressive debut feature, Moors is a director to watch out for in the future.