Top 10 Must-See Films At TIFF 2015

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Based on the novel by Andy Weir, The Martian stars Matt Damon as astronaut Mark Watney who is left behind on Mars after a mission is aborted. He has to find a way to survive for almost four years on a hostile planet while NASA figures out a way to rescue him. Obviously the odds are not in his favour, and according to him, he’ll have to “science the shit out of it”. Directed by Ridley Scott, The Martian is one of the most high profile world premieres of the festival.

In one of two big gangster movies at this year’s festival, Black Mass stars Johnny Depp as Whitey Bulger, who was a real life Irish-American gangster and FBI informant. Bulger’s connections (his brother was a U.S senator), and strategic instincts (his favourite author was Machiavelli) made him one of the most feared mob bosses in Boston history. See it if only for Depp’s physical transformation.

In the North American premiere, last year’s Best Actor Oscar winner, Eddie Redmayne stars as Lili Elbe, the 1920’s Danish artist who was one of the first ever recipients of sexual reassignment surgery. Directed by Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech), The Danish Girl is timely in its exploration of transgender themes that have been around for decades, not just in the last few years since Caitlyn Jenner has brought the issue into the spotlight.

Tom Hardy is already getting Oscar buzz for his double performance as twin brothers Reggie and Ronnie Kray in Legend. The brothers were two of Britain’s most infamous gangsters in the 60’s when London was making a move to become the Las Vegas of Europe. Through violence, loyalty, and connections to the American mafia, the brothers rose up through the ranks of the underworld before their volatile personalities got the best of them.

Opening the festival this year is Jean-Marc Vallee's (Oscar-nominated director of Dallas Buyer’s Club, and Montreal native) latest film. Demolition stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a man who just lost his wife in a car accident and starts taking out his grief on inanimate objects. He meets Naomi Watts’ character after sending a series of emotional letters to a vending machine company, and the two form an unlikely connection. The film won’t be officially released until next spring so it won’t be getting Oscar buzz, but the cast and director will bring the film plenty of attention anyway.

The big screen adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s award winning novel “Room” stars Brie Larson and newcomer, Jacob Tremblay as a mother and son who have spent the last several years living in enforced captivity. Ma (Larson) was kidnapped as a teenager and held prisoner, where she gave birth to her son, Jack. Her love for her son gives her the motivation to find a way to escape so he will have a chance to see the world outside of the only room he’s know for the first five years of his life.

This Lance Armstrong biopic reveals the truth behind one of the biggest doping scandals in sports history. Ben Foster stars as Armstrong (and looks like his doppelganger) from his reign as Tour de France victor (he won the title seven years in a row) to his fall from grace after the world found out he’d been taking performance enhancing drugs for the duration of his career while using is money and influence to keep it covered up. As far as sports biopics go, this film shows exactly what can happen when the need to win takes over.

Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell star in this action-comedy about an eccentric couple who are crazy about each other, and maybe just plain crazy as well. Rockwell plays a hitman with a twist— he kills the people who hire him to kill other people. Kendrick’s character likes her boyfriends a little weird though (because she’s not exactly stable herself), and she has to decide whether to join his lifestyle, criminal element and all, or run for her life.

About Ray is as much the story of Ray (Elle Fanning), a transgender male struggling to make a full transition and be accepted for who he really is, as it is the story of his family coming to terms with losing a daughter, but gaining a son. Naomi Watts and Susan Sarandon star as Ray’s mother and grandmother who are trying to be supportive, but navigating confusing territory in their own right. The film shows that being yourself is often the biggest challenge someone can face.

The true story of Laurel Hester, a New Jersey police officer who, after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, requests that her pension be transferred to her domestic partner, Stacie, is another film that sheds some light on the history of the LGBQT community’s fight for equality. Starring Oscar winner Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, and Steve Carell, the film is a love story and another reason why we should all support marriage equality.