Julianne Moore led the stars onto the first Toronto film festival red carpet
in two years Thursday, as the movie adaptation of Broadway smash hit "Dear
Evan Hansen" finally reopened North America's biggest movie gathering.
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The musical film about a teen battling isolation and loneliness drew
audiences back in a city just recently emerging from one of the world's longest
Covid-19 lockdowns, which forced last year's edition to take place almost
entirely online.
"It's a very big moment -- I love this festival," Moore, who plays
the student's mother in the film, told AFP.
"I felt so lucky to be working on something that was so important and
so much about the human condition at a time when people were really
struggling," she said.
The movie follows Evan, a teenager with social anxiety whose life is turned
upside-down after a classmate kills himself.
It tackles themes of wanting to belong and the might of social media, as he finds
himself trapped in a well-meaning but ever-deepening lie concerning the
tragedy.
Opening on Broadway in 2016, the multiple Tony Award-winning stage version
became arguably New York's most successful new musical since
"Hamilton," propelling Ben Platt -- who reprises his role on the big
screen -- to stardom.
"I saw it very early on, right after they opened -- Ben opened his
mouth and started to sing and I'd never heard anything like it before in my
life," said Moore, who joins a starry cast including Amy Adams and Kaitlyn
Dever.
Platt's casting by studio Universal Pictures raised eyebrows given the
27-year-old plays a high schooler -- although such age mismatches have long
been a hallmark of Hollywood high-school films such as "Grease."
But Platt, who played Evan in the musical's first production in 2015,
insists it will be the last time he revisits the character.
"It was a very cathartic experience to say goodbye to each piece of
material and each song, one at a time, and know that it will be preserved to
hopefully show my children someday," he told AFP.
- 'Rollercoaster' -
While other major film festivals such as Venice and Cannes have appeared
almost back to pre-pandemic "normal," this year's Toronto edition is
a mixture of virtual and real-life screenings with reduced audience
capacities.
Stars are thinner on the ground than usual, although the likes of Jessica
Chastain, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sigourney Weaver and "Dune" director
Denis Villeneuve are expected to attend.
Organizers were stymied by Canada's strict border controls, with mandatory
quarantine for most foreign visitors only lifted Tuesday.
"I think we've been affected differently," said festival co-head
Joana Vicente, who was not sure live, in-person premieres would be possible as
recently as May.
"You're riding this rollercoaster in terms of 'what does the situation
look like just ahead of us?'" added co-head Cameron Bailey
Toronto stands out from rivals due to boasting "the biggest, most
influential film audience at a festival in the world," making the return
of crowds vital, he said.
The festival, which runs until September 18, is showing dozens of films shot
during the pandemic including "Dear Evan Hansen" -- which was the
first North American production to start up in the early, pre-vaccine days of
last summer.
"It was a terrifying experience -- we were always worried about getting
sick," said actor Nik Dodani.
"And the isolation -- we were in a very strict bubble, we didn't see
anybody... I thought that was very fitting for the film."
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