Lenny Abrahamson’s victory at the Canadian event kicks off a season that promises much for the Irish
I had hoped to avoid anything more than a passing mention of awards season for a month or so, but when news came in that Lenny Abrahamson’s Room had won the People’s Choice Prize at the Toronto Film Festival we were forced to abandon that resolution. That award — voted for by, yes, the “people” at Toronto — has gained currency in recent decades thanks to its ability to predict Oscar success (it has a better record than, for instance, the Golden Globes). Recent best picture winners to have taken the gong include 12 Years a Slave, The King’s Speech and Slumdog Millionaire. In the case of those last two, the People’s Choice award suddenly swung the conversation in the relevant film’s favour. Momentum was then accumulated. Apart from anything else, there is the awareness that the majority of Oscar competitors are in the Toronto race. A few potential prize winners have yet to premiere — Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, Quentin Tarantino’s Hateful Eight, Alejandro G Iñárritu’s The Revenant — but the mass of the competition is there. Consider this. Not since 2003, when Million Dollar Baby snuck out at Christmas, has a film won the best picture Oscar that premiered later than this.
None of which is to suggest we should get ahead of ourselves. Brie Larson, who plays the woman imprisoned with her young son, does, however, look as certain as certain can be of an Oscar nomination. All this is further good news for Element Pictures. It is just four months since The Lobster, another Element film, won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. That fantastic Yorgos Lanthimos joint is probably too outré to figure at the mainstream awards, but we will certainly be hearing more about John Crowley’s Brooklyn. The adaptation of Colm Toibin’s popular novel was a smash at Sundance and has gone on to receive universally positive reviews. Expect Room and Brooklyn to be involved in a few tussles between now and February. Then there is Paddy Breathnach’s Viva which, after good reviews at Telluride, has been put forward as our entry in the best foreign language Oscar race. It is safe to say we have never before had so many horses in the race. Something has gone right with the Irish Film Industry. Patience, investment and education have all paid off.
Room, of course, was another film that premiered at Telluride and that festival really does seem to have stolen some thunder from the Canadian event. The films that are picking up the most buzz had screened before making their way to Lake Ontario: Spotlight, Beasts of No Nation, Anomalisa. Will there be war next year? There needn’t be. Toronto still holds its place as the behemoth that launches Film Chattertime and the People’s Choice is now one of the film’s worlds vital gongs. Here are some directors that won the prize before Lenny: Pedro Almodovar, Terry Gilliam, Ang Lee, Nic Roeg, Takeshi Kitano. “Just looked at list of past winners and nearly fell off the bed,” Lenny tweeted after the news came through. Glad to hear he hasn’t lost the run of himself.
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