The fall festival season may have come to an end, but Oscar season is in full swing and the fall box office is starting to get more and more crowded as studios start up their campaigns and get their films into theaters for a qualifying run. I’d love to review all of the films I saw at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2025 individually, but there are just too many in addition to non festival releases to do that. But that doesn’t mean we can’t put a few films on your radar and cover them with some quick reviews! So here are a few films either in theaters or coming soon that you should check out.
“Orwell 2+2=5” – In Theaters October 3rd
The evocation of “Orwellian” ideology has become exhaustingly overused and often times evoked by the very people Orwell vehemently rallied against. His work is pretty straight forward and blunt: authoritarianism in every form is bad, socialism and power to the people good. How that continues to get skewed some 75 years later is beyond me, “Orwell 2+2=5” sets the record straight and reaffirms his stances in very clear terms. A collection of his own diaries and writings narrated by Damian Lewis along with some archival footage, film iterations of his work from multiple decades as well as current day comparisons, “Orwell 2+2=5” goes scorched earth on government overreach and police states, highlighting societies in decline and ways in which authoritarian regimes come into power and oppress the masses. It is a frustrating and harrowing reminder that his warnings and criticisms are even more relevant today as facism and regimes rise on a global scale, including socieites that once seemed immune.
The challenge with something like Raoul Peck’s “Orwell 2+2=5” is that the people that need to see it probably won’t and the people that will see it probably don’t need to. Orwell sounded the drum his entire career and never changed his tune even on his deathbed, so while it is still a fascinating look at his work and current events repeating itself, the thesis of the documentary starts to feel repetitive. It is an echo chamber observation preaching to the choir of those of us who already see the “Animal Farm/1984” writing on the wall, and not in the way some would falsely try to recontextualize their meanings. I’d argue that despite is repetition, “Orwell 2+2=5” is still a vital watch. If for nothing else, to remind us that our concerns in the modern day are not overblown or out of proportion. The proof is the pudding, the life’s work of one of the most articulate and ardent critics of the failing society his lived in and the repeating history we see unfolding.
“Orwell 2+2=5” may not add anything new to the conversation, but it is one that we need to keep having and never forget. Orwell’s call to action from his 3 pillars that prop up regimes are quite simple: Freedom is Slavery, War is Peace, Ignorance is Strength. We aren’t too far off from “Orwell 2+2=5” and we need documentaries like this to keep us dialed in before we get reprogrammed.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
“Eleanor The Great” – VOD
In a cruel cruel world that seems to only get worse, we simply don’t deserve June Squibb. Everyone’s favorite grandma returns in “Eleanor the Great,” a showcase for Squibb’s incredible talent and sharp wit at the ripe young age of 96 years old. Squibb is every bit as joyous and warm and quick witted as she’s ever been, and its so special to watch her work. Directed by Scarlett Johansson from a script by Tory Kamen, “Eleanor the Great” follows Eleanor Morgenstein (Squibb) a 94 year old woman would moves back in with her daughter and grandson after the death of her best friend. As she is forced to make friends at the behest of her daughter while they look to find a more permanent residence, Eleanor stumbles into a support group for Holocaust survivors and in a moment of confusion and need for connection, passes off the survivor stories of her friend as her own. Nina Davis (an excellent Erin Kellyman) is a college student covering the group for a journalism project and decides to zero in on Eleanor as her subject, forcing Eleanor to maintain the lie longer and longer.
“Eleanor the Great” centers itself on grief, loss, loneliness, and community, and Johansson shows tremendous promise as a director. Squibb and Kellyman are the glue that hold it all together as the narrative structure starts to lose focus amid its ideas and contrivances. There’s a genuine charm that elevates “Eleanor the Great’s” shortcomings and keeps things alive whenever you start to feel like it’s losing you. Despite some missteps, the film does manager to stick the landing and dig a little deeper into how important people are in your life and the vitality of storytelling. Sharing your experiences with others, the sacred bond created from loss are what really drive home the emotionality of “Eleanor the Great” and while I wish there was a bit more focused substance that really captured some of its bigger ideas better and I don’t know if the subject matter will work for everyone, it’s still a joy to watch June Squibb on screen.
Rating: 3.5 out 5 Stars
“Nouvelle Vague” – Select Theaters October 31st, Netflix November 14th
There’s nothing quite like a double dose of Linklater. The ultimate hangout connoisseur, in “Nouvelle Vague” he takes a stab at his love of filmmaking and the joy of making movies – particularly French New Wave and its many influential creators. It’s a who’s who of a specific era, a love letter to how much fun movies are to make while focusing on the making of making “Breatheless.” Linklater turns passion into a niche project, opting to keep things niche instead of taking a broad, more crowd pleasing approach. If you don’t know anything about French New Wave, french cinema, or Jean-Luc Goddard, then “Nouvelle Vague” will seem inaccessible. Hell, even myself who only peripherally knows about those things and those creators felt a little loss at times. It’s a constantly winking movie aimed at a targeted audience, but even with its specificity Linklater can’t help but have a blast making it and that translates in the incredible performances.
Guillaume Marbeck is uncanny as Goddard, completely disappearing into the auteur filmmaker and capturing all of his mannerisms, cadence, and self aggrandizing philosophies he spouts ocassionally spouts off. The slow constant cigarette hanging from his lips, the sunglasses, the assured confidence in his vision is all present in Marbeck’s performance. Zoey Deutsch is quite charming and shares excellent chemistry with Aubry Dullin, and everyone is a spitting image of their real life counterparts. “Nouvelle Vague” is a romp through the city streets of France as a group of young, underfunded filmmakers and actors try to realize their dream of making a movie. It may be light on broad appeal and never really employees the techniques that defined the genre, but “Nouvelle Vague” still possesses the light hangout touch that only Linklater can deliver. It stops becoming necessary to understand what is happening and who that guy is and why this is important and transforms in the the kind of experience where you just want to see what these characters create.
Making movies is hard but is also a ton of fun and spontaneous sometimes, and spending with the right people is still worth the time spent even if the context is slightly skewed. I’d argue that “Blue Moon” is the better film of the two this year and Netflix acquiring “Nouvelle Vague” is a strange ending point for a VERY french film. It’s far more fitting for a streamer like Mubi, and my guess is that it probably won’t do all that well on the platform. But if you’re interested in expanding your cinematic horizons and want to take a crash course on French New Wave cinema, “Nouvelle Vague” is a good place to start.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Plenty more films to come as the season ramps up so stay tuned! And be sure to check these films out if you get a chance!
