What to See at NYFF53

WHAT TO SEE AT NYFF53

By Joshua Handler

This year’s New York Film Festival brings a wealth of gems (as usual), so the following are a couple of films that I have screened and highly recommend (due to a busy schedule, I was unable to screen as much as I usually do pre-fest):

Courtesy of Fox Searchlight

BROOKLYN (Dir. John Crowley) – A rich, deeply moving 1950s-set drama, John Crowley’s Brooklyn has been a sensation ever since premiering at Sundance in January. Starring a soulful, haunting Saorise Ronan as an Irish girl torn between her two homes, Ireland and America, and featuring superb performances by the excellent ensemble (Julie Walters and Etan Cohen stand out), Brooklyn is a film that I found very relevant to my life that also left me emotionally fulfilled and satisfied. Expect a slew of Oscar nominations. Fox Searchlight will release the film on November 6.

Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

MAGGIE’S PLAN (Dir. Rebecca Miller) – Greta Gerwig leads Rebecca Miller’s latest comedy about a New Yorker, Maggie (Gerwig), who wants to get pregnant through a sperm donor. She also falls for a professor (Ethan Hawke) who is married to a brilliant, yet unstable woman (Julianne Moore). The screenplay is quick-witted, heartfelt, and full of great one-liners, and the performances are universally excellent. The standout, though, is Julianne Moore using a supposedly Dutch accent in a role that allows her to steal every scene. Sony Pictures Classics will release the film.