By Jake Howell jake.howell@utoronto.ca
Countdown To Cannes: Atom Egoyan
Background: Canadian; born Cairo, Egypt 1960.
Known for / style: The Sweet Hereafter (1997), Chloe (2009), Exotica (1994); directing plays and operas in addition to films; writing scripts in addition to adapting existing works; blurring the lines between truth and fiction; themes of alienation; working in the thriller genre; collaborating with cinematographer Paul Sarossy and often casting his wife, Arsinée Khanjian.
Notable accolades: The Sweet Hereafter is Egoyan’s most acclaimed picture, netting him two Academy Award nominations (Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay) and three Cannes trophies (the Grand Prix, FIPRESCI Prize, and the Ecumenical Jury Prize). Exotica took home an additional Cannes FIPRESCI Prize in 1994. Egoyan is a multi-Genie winner, has won TIFF’s Best Canadian Feature Film prize three times (Exotica, 1991’s The Adjuster, and 1987’s Family Viewing) and is a member of the Order of Canada.
Film he’s bringing to Cannes: The Captive (formerly Queen of the Night), an original thriller by Egoyan and co-writer David Fraser, who was credited as a consultant on Egoyan’s Ararat. The plot, which, like the new title, sounds a lot like 2013’s Prisoners, follows a father looking for his missing daughter in wintertime. Shot by Paul Sarossy, The Captive features Ryan Reynolds, Scott Speedman, Rosario Dawson, Mireille Enos, and a handful of Canadian acting regulars, including Bruce Greenwood.
Previous Cannes appearances: Cannes has given Egoyan a lot of love. In the Palme d’Or Competition, he has debuted Adoration (2008), Where the Truth Lies (2005), Felicia’s Journey (1999), The Sweet Hereafter (1997), and Exotica (1994). In parallel sections, he’s premiered Speaking Parts (1989), The Adjuster (1991), Ararat (2002), and contributed to 2007’s auteur anthology Chacun son Cinéma. Egoyan has also been on two Festival juries: once as President (2010’s Cinéfondation), and another as a member of the Competition jury. Egoyan sat on the jury when fellow Canadian David Cronenberg screened Crash (1996), and Egoyan screened Felicia’s Journey under the David Cronenberg-led jury in 1999. 2014 will see a repeat of 2005, where both Cronenberg (History of Violence) and Egoyan (Where the Truth Lies) pitched for the Palme d’Or simultaneously.
Could it win the Palme? With Jane Campion as President of the jury, Egoyan has an ally: her acclaimed 2013 detective miniseries Top of the Lake centered around a missing girl, and this thematic link could play in Egoyan’s favor. Still the film sounds dangerously similar to last year’s Prisoners (directed by fellow Canuck, the Québécois Dénis Villeneuve), which grossed $122 million worldwide, but won relatively little along the awards circuit. If it isn’t truly exceptional, it may be that The Captive never truly escapes this association, as Prisoners is still so recent. Yet the trailer for The Captive assures that the missing girl plot point may realistically be one of the only things the two films have in common.
Why you should care: While Egoyan’s West Memphis Three drama Devil’s Knot has not yet been released stateside, it was poorly received in Canada, earning a meager 27% on Rotten Tomatoes. But all signs show that Devil’s Knot seemed to be an impersonal project for Egoyan (the director was hired late in pre-production), who is back in the writing chair with The Captive. Everyone loves a comeback story, and the trailer for his latest film is enticing. Egoyan has come very close to winning the Palme d’Or before, and if he does, it will be Canada’s first.
Previous Entries: Tommy Lee Jones
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