Home · Entertainment · Sep 12 archive
Girl Power and Dark Divorce Comedy in Purgatory
Developing
In Short: Purgatory, a 1980s-set dark divorce comedy, explores a girl's resilience amid family turmoil, while Girl Group offers a fun, character-driven musical comedy.
In a 1980s-set dark divorce comedy, director Lindsay Lanzillotta navigates the challenges of a young girl named Beatrice as her parents split, leaving her sheltered life in ruins. "What’s a girl to do when your parents split up and leave your sheltered, suburban home and school life in ruins?" asks Lanzillotta. The film, Purgatory, delves into Beatrice's trauma and the heartlessness she encounters in her small town, with the exception of a vital opening for tenderness in her interactions with J.K.
Director Wilson, who also stars in the film, brings a unique perspective to the project, blending heart and humor in a character-driven musical comedy. "It’s like when feelings are on top of your skin, everyone does feel a little fake around you and doesn’t feel what you’re feeling and you wonder, ‘Does anyone see how I’m feeling?'" Wilson explains. The film's ensemble, including Jennifer Coolidge, Randall Park, and Derry Girls alum Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, provides hilarious performances that complement Wilson's star and directorial roles.
In another Toronto film, Girl Group, Julia Byrne's character finds strength in her "girl power household" with her wife Ramona Agruma and their daughters. Byrne and cinematographer Antonio Calvache delight in showing the power of female camaraderie in repeated shots that highlight the film's themes. "Because he’s afraid of commitment and potentially ending up like his parents, or maybe because he’s a sadist who gets off on making girls feel stupid as he passive-aggressively shoos them out of his flat in the morning?" the film's male character poses a question that resonates with audiences.
The film's approach to storytelling is also noteworthy. "White’s approach also brings us deeper into Tessa’s interior life as only filmmaking can," Ang, the director, explains. Ang's script focuses on Ah Girl's perspective, asking the question: what does she see, feel, and think is happening, rather than what the audience needs to be told. This approach has struck a chord with audiences across very different cultures, who see themselves in Ah Girl.
What's confirmed
- Rebel Wilson shared insight into her " girl power household" with her and wife Ramona Agruma's daughters Royce, 4, and Rose, 4 months, in an exclusive interview with E!
- News at the world premiere of her movie during the Toronto International Film Festival Sept.
What's still developing
- Lanzillotta directed Purgatory from a screenplay by Christine Speer and looked to get into Beatrice’s head as, while naive as a coming-of-age tween, she’s also hyper-aware and traumatized by her disrupted home and school life.
- Here the director also puts her film’s audience in its own confessional chair, should their own dark secrets around familial divorce resonate.
- After all, during the 1980s when Purgatory is set, family skeletons generally remained deeply hidden in the closet.
- The Aniplex One Focus livestream event on Saturday revealed a trailer for the "Yoroshiku★Girl" story segment of Atsushi Nishigori 's original anime film Grotesqqque (previously titled Grotesque).
- CloverWorks producer Yūichi Fukushima and Wit Studio producer Tetsuya Nakatake are the representative directors of JOEN.
- Omos says his parents were scared for him when he told them he would be joining WWE, noting that he understood why.
- See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source Former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone said he wasn’t arrested at a Portuguese airport after arriving with a shotgun he intended to use in a clay pigeon shooting competition, BBC reports.
- I've worked in Canadian journalism for more than 20 years, coming up on 10 at Postmedia's Sun chain of newspapers and the Toronto Star, Canadian Press and Metro News before that.
Sources
- The Hollywood Reporterlink