44/41
It’s a break from his schizophrenic comedic romances
Story
Two young religious women are drawn into a game of cat and mouse in a strange man’s home. There’s a disclaimer at the end: “Generative Al was not used in the making of this film.” I saw seven films at this year’s TIFF, and my vote for Best Picture went to HERETIC with Hugh Grant (who would have also gotten my vote for Best Actor if that were a voting category). I was impressed when he got in touch with his dark side in the HBO miniseries THE UNDOING, but here he’s taking 11 years off, playing a lovable, religiously obsessed psychopath.
Thus begins a cat-and-mouse game in which Grant tests his faith
Co-stars Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East also do a great job playing two Mormon missionaries who think they’re going to call a man who wants to convert to Mormonism. But Grant turns out to be a lot more erudite — and skeptical — about religion than they expected. When they realize he’s less interested in conversion and more interested in discussing religion, they try to leave, but find themselves trapped inside.
The result is refreshingly unconventional
The horror film is solid, but doesn’t reach the extremes of similarly claustrophobic horror films like FUNNY GAMES (the original) and SPEAK NO. BAD (2022 version). My only gripe is that the choice of Mormonism over religion feels a bit deliberate.
Check out our list of exciting new films from this year’s film festivals, including Venice, TIFF, New York Film Festival and more
In short, watch this movie if you’ve ever enjoyed a Hugh Grant movie and want to see him at the top of his game. I haven’t been so sure about an acting Oscar nomination for a film at TIFF since I saw Allison Janney in I TONYA in 2017. Note: there was a question and a question; A after the film and several people complimented me on the question I asked: “Was Richard Dawkins influential?” Director Bryan Woods confirmed that he…