Elevator pitch: The Virgin Suicides meets the best scene from True Detective Season 1
If you want instant cinematic buzz, you could do worse than making a “one-shot” film - a full-length feature either shot in a single long take or edited to appear as such. Yet the past five years have been so filthy with one-shots - from Bushwick to Birdman - that the novelty is wearing thin, especially if that´s the only trick up the director´s sleeve. Fortunately, Blind Spot is richer than its single-take conceit. In 98 intense and at times unbearable minutes, director Tuva Novotny, a star performer in her native Norway but behind the camera for the first time here, follows the aftermath of a teenage suicide. From the act itself - implied, but not explicitly shown - to the tidal waves of grief that hit the victim´s family, Blind Spot is a devastating experiment that prioritizes both emotion and aesthetics. You may never see a more deliberately uncomfortable film this year.
TIFF 2018 schedule: Sept. 10, 6:45 p.m., Scotiabank; Sept. 12, 9 a.m., Jackman; Sept. 16, 3:45 p.m., Scotiabank