October 31, 2025

Welcome to the TFCA weekly, a round-up of reviews and coverage by members of the Toronto Film Critics Association.

In Release this Week

Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers (dir. Emily Turner)

“Different from Nick Broomfield’s two docs and Charlize Theron’s Monster, this one is a more sympathetic look at Aileen, giving her more say while probing her so-called corrupted trial, while also emphasizing her claim of innocence while being a born-again Christian,” notes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

Dracula (dir. Radu Jude)

“Radu Jude’s Dracula is not the typical Dracula film,” notes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “The use of AI as both theme and tool is timely, provocative and innovative though the non-linearity of the film (in every aspect) can be quite overwhelming to the average viewer.  It is a rocky roller-coaster ride, to say the least, and whether one comes off it entertained is questionable.  Lot of nudity, crude language, images of penises and bare breasts – what is morally present and can be expected in a Radu Jude’s film.”

Hedda (dir. Nia DaCosta)

“When Nia DaCosta took on playwright Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, she didn’t come to adapt the play. She came to reinvent it. The result is an impressive work of technical achievement. Starring Tessa Thompson and Nina Hoss as feuding women of intimidating genius, stymied and pitted against one another by a patriarchal society, Hedda explores Ibsen’s themes of duplicity,” says Jackson Weaver at CBC, in a feature that situates the film within a field of radical adaptations. “Namely, is the story’s focus — kept woman Hedda Gabler, trapped in an aristocratic marriage by her own mercurial impulses and outside social pressures — a villain, or victim for finding a sense of personal power in manipulating those around her? Hedda, available to stream on Prime now, asks the same question. But while keeping the basics, DaCosta’s version does away with pretty much everything else.”

At That Shelf, Pat Mullen gets some words from stars Tessa Thompson and Nina Hoss “in the performance of the year” about diving into Nia DaCosta’s reinvention of the classic play, including Hoss’s perspective on finding inspiration for her character into sex researcher Shere Hite: “She’s just like Eileen: a fabulous woman, she’s voluptuous. She’s not hiding the fact that she’s a woman and she’s feminine and she embraces it and she celebrates it, but she wants to push the boundaries within society,” says Hoss. “She talks about female sexuality and I thought that’s what the manuscript is about. I also thought about putting Shere Hite in the ’50s in a way and just being ahead of her time. We needed Shere Hite because Eileen didn’t get to publish her manuscript. That was my entry to Eileen.”

I Really Love My Husband (dir. GG Hawkins; Nov. 4)

“The refreshing premise of a non-binary third-party threesome is largely wasted in a film that is not funny enough and does not have enough jokes poking at the couple’s relationship,” admits Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “It does not help that the script does not attempt to make the couple more likeable for the audience to feel more sympathetic towards them.”

Indera (dir. Woo Ming Jin)

“For a film from Malaysia, director Woo (Malaysia has a population consisting of a majority Malays with Chinese concentrated in the towns and cities), the film boasts strong Hitchcock undertones in terms of audience participation and the use of shots and camera techniques to invoke suspense and mystery,” writes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “At best, it is a searing vision of folk horror rich in traditions and culture.”

Köln 75 (dir. Ido Fluk)

“At its best the film shows two sides of staging a concert, from the performer’s and the promoter’s points of view,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “Director Fluk ditches conventional filmmaking in his storytelling.  He has a renegade reporter, Michael Watts (Michael Chernus), at many points in the film talking directly to the camera.  The film’s main flaw is the age of the lead actress (29) playing 17-year-old Vera Blandes.”

Lesbian Space Princess (dir. Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese)

“Not only is this movie charming and life-affirming it’s also ridiculous and incredibly smart all at the same time.  Plus if that wasn’t enough it’s a feature length animated and independent production that was made for under $1 million which is pretty unheard of,” says Dave Voigt at In the Seats with… He also speaks with directors Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese about their animated adventure.

The Mastermind (dir. Kelly Reichardt)

“Kelly Reichardt has made a devastating critique of the entitled youth culture of the hippie era,” notes Marc Glassman at Classica FM. “J.B. Mooney, brilliantly played by Josh O’Connor, feels above the people around him: his wife, friends, and family don’t appear worthy of his respect or loyalty. But it becomes clear that he’s incapable of truly pulling off his grand art theft and has no choice but to flee. He’s arrogant and a loser—a catastrophic combination.”

Nouvelle Vague (dir. Richard Linklater)

“Nouvelle Vague is, in my personal estimation, one of the best films of the year. It is a unique look at the creative process and is a wonderful behind-the-scenes film. Linklater’s approach is insouciant in a way that is fully in keeping with the spirit of the nouvelle vague,” writes Marc Glassman at Classical FM. “But it’s possible that others won’t find Nouvelle Vague as wonderful as I do. Part of the fun of it for me is being immersed in film lore and knowing the Godard legend.”

“It is not a deep portrait of an artist, or even a crafty love letter. More of a panting, heaving, flop-sweat-drenched and years-late ‘in memoriam’ tribute writ large, with Linklater so loudly singing the praises of his hero that he forgets, or rather chooses to ignore altogether, the singular and radical artistry that drove Godard’s cinema in the first place,” says Barry Hertz at The Globe and Mail. “Linklater is here for a good time, not a particularly long or thoughtful time. That gun can’t shine every day.”

“Linklater makes a purposeful decision to include Truffaut and Godard’s friendship, which softens Godard, particularly in a scene showing their penchant for writing and discussing ideas inside a Paris Métro station,” notes Rachel Ho at Exclaim!. Ho also chats with Linklater about the film and the new wave of American independent filmmaking of which he was a part: “We were all just scrubbing along trying to get our next films made. I was vaguely aware of [my] contemporaries,” Linklater tells Ho. “It was just a good era, but it wasn’t revolutionary in the sense of other times and places.”

“Only someone like Richard Linklater could make a film about one of the more landmark cinematic moments of our time in the chaotic style that Godard himself made Breathless and it makes for one of the most unique and unforgettable cinematic experiences of the year,” writes Dave Voigt at In the Seats with… along with an interview with star Guillaume Marbeck.

“Cinephiles will definitely delight in all the film references as well as the depiction of New Wave greats like directors Claude Chabrol, Francois Truffaut, Agnès Varda and husband Jacques Demy,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “The film also depicts the idiosyncrasies of Godard, who shot Breathless sans script and sand continuity, much to the chagrin of his financial backers, makeup artist and collaborators.”

The Rats: A Witcher Tale (dir. Mairzee Almas)

“The film is a poor man’s Robin Hood set in a medieval fantasy land in which the gang largely keep their spoils to themselves,” sighs Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “The film is strictly for fans of the series.  The blend of harmless action adventure comes across with some bouts of violence.”

Urchin (dir. Harris Dickinson)

“Director Dickson gets his audience to both sympathize and then feel the complete opposite,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “Disgust for Mike –  a rare feat that he accomplishes, turning the tables a few times during the film, with credit also going to actor Dillane.  A remarkable first feature!”

The White House Effect (dir. Bonni Cohen, Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk)

“Once again, the doc proves the fallacy and hypocrisy of the White House,” observes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “While the doc offers a good summary of all the events that have taken place in the past regarding the issue, including the catastrophic Exxon oil spill an the company’s coverup of its devastation effects, the tension could be stronger or more focused around fewer key characters/events (such as the fight between Bill Reilly and John Sununu). The villain of the piece is clearly Sununu and the hero is Reilly.”

A Festival of Festival Coverage

At The Globe and Mail, Barry Hertz reports on the Windsor International Film Festival and asks whether regional festivals can survive. “In Canada…regional events like WIFF, CIFF, the recently concluded St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, or next month’s Whistler Film Festival exist not to act as carefully calculated awards-season launchpads, but to simply expose communities to a flood of cinema that might otherwise pass local moviegoers by completely,” writes Hertz. “There are risks, of course, when it comes to balancing community and sustainability, and WIFF’s size and ambitions seemingly put it right on the razor’s edge of that tension – a problem that TIFF has struggled with lately, albeit on a much larger stage and under a much brighter spotlight.”

File Under Miscellaneous

At The Globe and Mail, Barry Hertz picks the best and worst baseball movies to binge during the seventh inning stretch, from Bull Durham to The Scout: “The very best baseball movie ever made, Bull Durham triumphs on the expertise and respect of a filmmaker who knows the game better than most (Shelton was a minor-league infielder for the Baltimore Orioles’ farm system before turning to movies) and a cast that hits it out of the park with such effortless charm that it will make you forgive that cliche just there. Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, heck even Robert Wuhl all deserve statues in Cooperstown.”

At the Toronto Star, Peter Howell picks five films to see in November, including Sentimental Value: “[Joachim] Trier’s deft mix of pain and beauty, anchored by Reinsve’s magnetic presence, delivers a moving exploration of family bonds and artistic struggles. It’s the kind of film that lingers in your heart,” writes Howell.

TV Talk/Series Stuff

At What She Said, Anne Brodie checks out Emma Thompson’s new series Down Cemetery Road: “So well written, witty, sparing, with very occasional jolts of humour, it’s high tension, brainy stuff that will keep you engaged, horrified and amused over eight episodes. And Thompson who continues down her new acting path of straight, serious roles contrasts with Ruth Wilson to create intuitive, dramatic flair. Adapted from Mick Herron’s award-winning novel from the Oxford book series.”