Jason Reitman is TIFF’s favorite—I guess I should say favourite—son. He’s actually the son of famed director Ivan Reitman, but his ties to Toronto are deep and his loyalty to the festival is admirable. This year sees another debut screening of the director’s follow-up to Juno, Up in the Air, and Young Adult, which is said to be a starkly dramatic turn for Reitman, whose films tend to have a strong comedic element despite dealing with sometimes heavy themes.
With festival films, the cast is often one of the biggest reasons for seeking out a particular film, and with Labor Day boasting the likes of Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin in its two lead roles, it’s sure to be a title that’s high in demand. Add to this the positive buzz about the film coming out of Telluride, with critics hailing it as a mature progression for Reitman, who’s only 35 (!), as well as its scheduled mid-awards season release, and this becomes one of the most must-see films at TIFF 2013.
I’ve always found Reitman’s comedic movies to be trying a little too hard to be serious at times, and his moralizing of his characters irks me slightly, but he’s clearly a filmmaker with an enormous upside and until he does something truly offensive, his work will always be worth going out of your way to see.
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