Before I recommend films screening at the ByTowne and the Mayfair in the second half of December, let me say a big “CONGRATULATIONS!” to everyone at the Mayfair as they celebrate the venerable cinema’s 90th anniversary this month.
Both cinemas are playing The Banshees of Inisherin. Oscar-winning writer-director Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and In Bruges) reunites the actors who starred in In Bruges, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, to great effect. Set on an isolated Irish island, Gleeson’s character Colm suddenly announces that he wants nothing to do with his longtime, rather dull friend, Pádraic (Farrell). Pádraic presses for their friendship to continue, but Colm is adamant; he threatens self-harm if Pádraic attempts to speak to him. Soon, relatives and neighbours are drawn into this increasingly dire impasse.
TÁR is an extraordinary, searing portrait of a world-famous classical conductor, Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett). She’s conducted many of the world’s top symphony orchestras and is considered the greatest living composer. Now, she’s preparing to lead her prestigious orchestra in Berlin in Mahler’s challenging Fifth Symphony, which will be live-recorded by Deutsche Grammophon. But her power and perfect life are complicated—disturbing things from her past are surfacing. Blanchett has immersed herself in this challenging role. She studied classical music and conducting techniques—even learned German: she lives and breathes this character. Director Todd Field brings all aspects of the film together masterfully without grandstanding. You can see this remarkable film at the ByTowne.
I know little about the film The Pale Blue Eye, other than that it has a star-studded cast and an intriguing storyline. In 1830, a detective is investigating the gruesome murder of a cadet at West Point. He’s helped by another cadet named Edgar Allan Poe. Looks intriguing, and what’s Christmas without a little horror and mystery? At the Mayfair.
I’ve read plenty about White Noise, Noah Baumbach’s adaptation of Don DeLillo’s “unfilmable” satiric novel about a 1980s American family. The family, led by a potbellied Adam Driver and a frizzy-haired Greta Gerwig, are obsessed with brand-name consumerism (some of the key scenes partake in a supermarket) and are trying to escape a threatening toxic cloud caused by a train/truck collision. I’m not a fan of Baumbach’s films, but this one has had a lot of buzz from professional film reviewers. At the ByTowne.
For lovers of CanCon and classic rock, there’s the recently released documentary REVIVAL69: The Concert that Rocked the World at the ByTowne. Did you know that in 1969, the year of Woodstock and Altamont, there was another huge rock festival held in Toronto’s Varsity Stadium—the Toronto Rock n Roll Revival? Among the performers are John Lennon and Yoko Ono, The Doors, Eric Clapton, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley and Alice Cooper.
A late but very welcome addition to the ByTowne’s lineup: the new Quebecois film You Will Remember Me/Tu te Souviendras de Moi. It stars one of my favourite Quebecois actors, Remy Girard, as an erudite retired history teacher starting to lose his memory. This one’s a must-see for me.
What would December be without Christmas classic films—or at least films set during yuletide? The ByTowne has two such films: The Apartment and Love Actually.
The Apartment is one of my favourite films from one of my favourite directors, Billy Wilder. This bittersweet dramedy stars Jack Lemmon in one of his best roles as C.C. Baxter, an ambitious office worker who is ingratiating himself with the higher-ups by letting them use his Upper West Side apartment for their extramarital trysts. C.C.’s boss (Fred McMurray in oleaginous form) is having a casual affair with the office’s sweet elevator operator, Fran (Shirley MacLaine). At least the boss treats it as casual. The Apartment won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
The star-packed Christmas bonbon Love Actually may be the ultimate romantic Christmas comedy. It weaves together an extraordinary number of love affairs into one story. Bonus: the ByTowne has declared this screening a Bad Sweater Party, so it’s time to dig out that sweater from the bottom drawer!
And, of course, there’s the beloved It’s a Wonderful Life, the sentimental story about a man (Jimmy Stewart) living a rather dull life in a small town, contemplating suicide at Christmas time. At the Mayfair.
Not into sentimental romances? How about the raucous Batman Returns, directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton in the title role, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman (meow!) and Danny DeVito as The Penguin (almost unrecognizable under layers of makeup)? At the ByTowne.
And a Christmas gift from the Mayfair for all of us: The Rocky Horror Picture Show! Need I say more?
I wish you happy holidays and a 2023 full of incredible cinematic magic in the dark!
Dates, times and tickets for the ByTowne are at www.bytowne.ca. Dates, times and tickets for the Mayfair are at www.mayfairtheatre.ca.
