The days are shorter and colder, but that’s a good reason to get comfy at the ByTowne and the Mayfair. And since we’re heading into awards season and folks who have an awards contender (or think they have) are releasing their films to attract lots of buzz and influence the awards jurors, there are many new films to choose from.
I’m most eager to see Anora, by one of my favourite directors, Sean Baker (The Florida Project, Tangerine). It’s being tapped by some critics as the top film of 2024 and won the prestigious Palme d’Or winner at Cannes, was a runner-up for TIFF’s People’s Choice award, and has a stellar “91” Metacritic score. Mikey Madison as sex worker Ani/Anora received rave reviews from every critic I’ve read. Critics have also praised the rest of the cast. The plot starts like Pretty Woman: Ani begins “entertaining” a Russian oligarch’s teenage son at a “gentlemen’s club.” He becomes besotted with her and things quickly progress to a Vegas wedding. Then his family finds out and is furious. They and their goons try to get the marriage annulled. And they hold all the cards. At the ByTowne.
The other runner-up for TIFF’s People’s Choice award was Emilia Pérez by director Jacques Audiard. Its plot is very unusual. In Mexico, a lawyer (Zoe Saldaña) is approached to help a much-feared drug cartel boss retire from his business. He wants to disappear by undergoing sex reassignment surgery and, as a woman named Emilia, to begin a new life. Like Anora, Emilia Pérez has an outstanding cast—they won the Best Ensemble Cast award at Cannes. But like Anora, one actress–Karla Sofia Gascón–has been singled out for playing both a dangerous cartel boss and a gentle sophisticated woman so well. I should mention that this is a musical. At the Mayfair.
I saw the bizarre political satire Rumours at the ByTowne in October, and I highly recommend it. I particularly enjoyed Roy Dupuis as Canada’s tough-but-sensitive ladies’ man PM and Cate Blanchett’s Angela Merkel-like German Chancellor. If you like your satire weird, this film is for you.
If weird films aren’t your thing, plenty of straightforward drama is at both cinemas.
I wrote about The Outrun in October. I was very impressed with Saoirse Ronan’s portrayal of an alcoholic young woman who, after hitting rock bottom, decides to return to her childhood home in The Orkneys to try to get and stay sober. Great acting by Ronan and the supporting actors. At the Mayfair.
Written and directed by award-winning British director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave, Widows), Blitz follows the stories of a group of Londoners during the Nazi bombing of London during WWII. Mostly we see it through the eyes of a 9-year-old mixed-race boy, George (Elliott Heffernan). George and his mother Rita (another fine role for the talented Saoirse Ronan) are separated when Rita attempts to send George to the country with hundreds of other evacuated kids. But George gets separated from the transport and wanders about the devastated city amid the nightmarish bombing raids. At the ByTowne.
The Mayfair is kicking off its Francis Ford Coppola Festival with Coppola’s massive 40-years-in-the-making Megalopolis. The first showing is the Ottawa premiere of the interactive version of the film. “Interactive,” meaning that at one point in the film, an actor walks onto the stage in front of the screen and talks to the protagonist, Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), who seems to reply to the live actor.
What’s the film about? Metacritic says it’s a modern — and revisionist — retelling of the 63 BC Catillinarian conspiracy. This uprising caused political chaos that weakened the Roman Republic, which helped Julius Caesar establish the Roman Empire with himself as Emperor. Coppola described Megalopolis as a commentary on the American political system. The Mayfair’s blurb is “The city of New Rome faces the duel between Cesar Catilina, a brilliant artist in favour of a Utopian future, and the greedy mayor Franklyn Cicero. Between them is Julia Cicero, with her loyalty divided between her father and her beloved.” Must be seen on a big screen to match its big scope and ambitions.
On the other hand, Coppola’s The Godfather scored an amazing “100” on Metacritic, which means all 16 critics thought the film was excellent. If you haven’t seen The Godfather in a while, this is your opportunity to see it as intended—on the Mayfair’s big screen. If you have never seen it, this is a golden opportunity to experience this must-see.
Before I get on to other older films, there’s a plug for an inexpensive (very inexpensive if you’re a student!) way to see a plethora of new Canadian films at the ByTowne. It’s the three-day Ottawa Canadian Film Festival 2024 at the ByTowne. Go to their website for the descriptions of 16 films that range the gamut of genres.
The ByTowne’s introduces its new Detour series, inviting you to “take a sharp turn into the unknown” of genre faves, with 1983’s high school dramedy Risky Business. A straight-A high school student (a very young Tom Cruise!) whose life’s trajectory includes attending an Ivy League college and a success-strewn business career makes a fateful decision when his parents go out of town. Raiding the liquor cabinet and playing loud music isn’t enough—he wants something more extreme. When he meets a sexy call girl (Rebecca De Mornay), things quickly spiral out of control, culminating in her turning his parents’ home into a brothel. You don’t want to miss Cruise dancing in his underwear and white gym socks, playing air guitar. Or the Porsche in Lake Michigan.
Over at the Mayfair, there are two treats for Dr. Who fans. The Doctor Who Society of Canada is presenting Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. These films were released in 1966, so don’t expect snazzy GCI special effects. But, after all, that’s not what Dr. Who is about, is it? Bring your friends, bring your kids, and introduce them to the good doctor.
Happy viewing!
Dates, times, and tickets for the ByTowne are at www.bytowne.ca. The ByTowne publishes its calendar at least three weeks in advance. Dates, times, and tickets for the Mayfair are at www.mayfairtheatre.ca. The Mayfair usually publishes the coming week’s schedule midweek and adds to its “coming soon” list, so check its website and emails for the latest updates.
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