The last seven films to win the Academy Award for Best Picture began their march to victory with successful screenings at TIFF, and all eyes are now on T.O. in hopes that the next Slumdog Millionaire may be waiting in the wings.
The 10-day festival is only halfway done, but bloggers and critics have already given their blessing to two films that will, with any fortitude, become award contenders in a few months’ time.
“The Theory of Everything,” a biographical drama starring Eddie Redmayne as theoretical physicist Stephen Hakwing, is receiving rave notices for its triumphal story. Redmayne and his co-star (Felicity Jones as Hawking’s first wife Jane Wilde) are sure to stay in the award conversation for their portrayal of Hawking’s transition from walking and speaking to using a wheelchair and a computer to communicate.
A second buzzed-about film can be found in “The Imitation Game,” the story of Alan Turing, a codebreaker and closeted gay man whose work solving the German code in World War II was pivotal in securing the peace throughout Europe. Critics are left starry-eyed by Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role, with Keira Knightley receiving praise as Turing’s friend and fellow codebreaker Joan Clarke.
If it seems unlikely two films about two brilliant British scientists and the women in their lives starring two pairs of talented actors will end up with gold statues, that’s because it is. Toronto is just the beginning of the campaign trail for awards contenders, and both “The Theory of Everything” and “The Imitation Game” have several hurdles to jump before Oscar night. However, both films have placed themselves in contention with their success at TIFF.
