TIFF 2026: Wild Horse Nine, Evil Genius, The Man I Love, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother | Reviews

Attending the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is a magical experience for any cinephile, as the festival celebrates art and film while showcasing the absolute best. This year marked the 51st TIFF, which ran from September 10–20 and featured 293 films from a wide range of filmmakers, including Mike Leigh, Chris Rock, and Florian Zeller, as well as other titles already generating Oscar buzz. The festival opened with the world premiere of Siân Heder’s Being Heumann and closed with Villeneuve: The Rise of a Legend.

As the event wrapped, TIFF announced its People’s Choice Award winners, and the top prize went to Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s La bola negra, with I Play Rocky directed by Peter Farrelly as first runner‑up and Heder’s film as second runner‑up. The People’s Choice Documentary Award went to Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been, followed by Black Sunflowers directed by James Marcus Haney and The Ultra Runner directed by Mila Aung‑Thwin. The People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award went to Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney, with The Spiral directed by Paolo Strippoli as first runner-up and Arrested Memory directed by Sabu as second runner‑up. The International People’s Choice Award went to Elsinore directed by Simon Stone, with Possible Love directed by Lee Chang‑dong as first runner‑up and The Assassin(s) directed by Hur Jin‑ho as the second runner‑up.

Here are reviews of some of the selected films chosen for TIFF.

Wild Horse Nine

Could John Malkovich finally win an Oscar? Yes, after he delivered one of the best and most compelling performances of his career in Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine. McDonagh’s film had its Canadian Premiere at TIFF, after previously premiering at the Venice International Film Festival. The dark comedy follows two CIA agents in 1973 who are sent from Santiago, Chile to Easter Island on a mission. For Chris (Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell), the trip is about trust and companionship amid political tension, secrets, and terminal illness. McDonagh’s film also stars Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits, Parker Posey, Mariana di Girolamo, and Ailín Salas. McDonagh’s film is hilarious and incredibly moving. This marks Rockwell’s third collaboration with McDonagh, and their director‑actor dynamic has a natural ease that clicks immediately! At this point, any project with McDonagh and Rockwell is a must‑watch, and with Malkovich added to the mix, the chemistry between Rockwell and Malkovich is off the wall. Their dynamic creates a sharp, chaotic portrait of male friendship, and audiences will get plenty of the signature comedy they expect from McDonagh. Shot in Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Santiago, Chile, the film looks sharp, gritty, and stunning, thanks to cinematographer Ben Davis, who previously worked on McDonagh’s projects. There are also striking, majestic horses on the island, and Chris bonds with one of them. That connection adds emotional weight and powerful symbolism which helps McDonagh’s story stand out. It will resonate with audiences and could be discussed as one of McDonagh’s best and most mature films.

Evil Genius

One film that made its world premiere was Courtney Cox’s latest directorial project, Evil Genius, produced by Jason Bateman and based on the 2018 Netflix true crime documentary series of the same name. Cox’s film is a dramatization of the infamous 2003 “pizza bomber” case that involves the chaotic and toxic relationship between former lovers Bill Rothstein (David Harbour) and Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong (Patricia Arquette). In the film, they devise a scheme that resulted in a pizza delivery man being forced into a bank heist with a bomb locked around his neck. It’s a tragic story about unlikable people, crime, and death. Evil Genius also features a recognizable supporting cast, including Michael Chernus, Garret Dillahunt, Danielle Macdonald, Ryan Eggold, Thomas Michael Allen, and Owen Teague. Sloppy and disappointing are the best ways to describe Cox’s film, which forgets to be thrilling or even remotely fascinating. It’s a reminder that not all actors make strong directors, as the 94‑minute runtime races by without giving this complex true‑crime story any room to breathe. The film feels poorly constructed, and the messy editing makes it feel like a made‑for‑TV movie. One of the only saving graces in Cox’s film was Arquette’s performance. Audiences would not miss much if they chose to skip this film, as it serves best as background noise while you do chores around the house.

The Man I Love

Directed and co-written by Ira Sachs, The Man I Love made its Canadian Premiere at TIFF, as part of the main competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. Set in New York in the late 1980s, Jimmy George (Rami Malek) is an actor and performance artist dying of AIDS as he navigates life and love. Sachs’s film includes a sensational cast: Tom Sturridge, Luther Ford, Rebecca Hall, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Sasha Lane, and Maisy Stella. It’s a tragic queer story where Malek delivers one of the strongest and most emotionally charismatic, riveting performances of his career. Malek’s performance is up for discussion for an Oscar nomination, while Sturridge also stands out as Jimmy’s partner, Dennis, who brought empathy to the role. Shot on 35mm film, Sachs’s film feels organic and personal, with a humane story and a flawed character. Musical moments help express artistic emotion during a serious time in the AIDS crisis. Sachs’s film is a tender story of fear, loss, and love that shows how messy relationships can be, and as a filmmaker, he isn’t afraid to show authenticity.

Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother

It’s a story of a man’s faith and fatherhood. Bassam Tariq’s latest film also made its world premiere at the festival, starring two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali as Latif, a religious, driven, and devout Muslim who’s both a loving father to his three children and a hitman. Latif travels across Houston after his wife’s death to protect his family and secure the breast milk his newborn desperately needs, all while battling violent enemies. The film also stars John Cho, Giancarlo Esposito, Abubakr Ali, Tramell Tillman, and Adia, Tiffany Boone. Tariq and Ali didn’t get to make the Blade film they spent months developing, as they parted ways with Marvel over ongoing delays and creative disagreements. That being said, they still told an original story whose results ultimately paid off in more ways than one. Ali spent over a year training while Blade was being developed, and the action sequences in Tariq’s film showcase sharply crafted, suspenseful choreography. Ali gave one of the most emotionally rich and complex performances of his career as a character who struggles with guilt and grief, while Cho gave one of his best performances since Searching (2018). Cho stars as Pastor Hwan Yoo, an Iraq War veteran turned extremist leader and the film’s chilling antagonist; every scene with Ali and Cho is tense and of the highest quality. Tariq’s film is crafted with fluid, confident editing and is beautifully shot by Katelin Arizmendi, giving the story plenty of emotional depth, while still being funnier than expected.

The 51st edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) runs September 10–20, 2026