The Toronto International Film Festival is mostly about cinema (obviously). But TIFF isn’t only about films. There are parties to attend, stars to spot on the street, and brand activations everywhere. It’s high time for all aspects of TIFF to get the same critical attention as the films.
Welcome to FASHION Reviews Everything TIFF-related. While this might not be an entirely comprehensive appraisal—it’s as impossible to be at every party as it is to see every film — if we attend anything linked to the Toronto International Film Festival in anyway, we’ll review it here.
What do you get when you make a movie about making a monster? Apparently, a room full of party-goers surrounding four very beautiful, very talented under-25s. This, at least, is my experience with Mary Shelley: a British period piece about the IRL love story that inspired Mary Shelly’s iconic novel, “Frankenstein.” And because I didn’t get to see the movie (? ), I’m left reviewing the star-studded post-world-premiere party at the RBC House. Rough, right? Reading from the crowd reactions and cocktail chit-chatter, the film seems to have been a success. Fortunately, the party was too.
Maisie Williams, Elle Fanning, Douglas Booth and Bel Powley all star in the 19th century biopic, which was written and directed by Saudi Arabian, female filmmaker Haifaa al-Mansour. And guess what?! The entire cast *actually* showed up for the party (on time) — which TIFF veterans know is a rare occurrence.
Elle, who stars as Mary Shelley, arrived to the RBC House in a dress so pretty that Vogue already has a post devoted to it. I watched as she ran into the party, hand-in-hand with her co-star Bel, like a giggly school-girl, and the whole scene matched her fairytale Alexander McQueen ensemble perfectly. For someone whose been in the spotlight all her life — and who is a 5 ft 9, blonde haired goddess — there’s nothing pretentious about Elle. She’s the kind of effortlessly-cool celeb every girl wants to be friends with.
Then, Jamie Dornan (aka Christian Grey) showed up!!! At first, I assumed it was because Dornan is Irish, and this is a British film with mostly British actors. Everyone in the United Kingdom is friends, right? But I’ve since been informed that Dornan’s wife, Amelia Warner, composed the music for the film. The Fifty Shades of Grey star made a rare red carpet appearance to support his wife — which awwwwwee.
Sadly, I missed Maisie Williams. I was really looking forward to telling her that I totally predicted her character’s epic Game of Thrones season 7 finale plot twist. I’ll never stop rooting for you, Arya Stark.
TL;DR – Elle Fanning – Alexander McQueen – Christian Grey – Arya Stark
Rating: ????
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