NOTES FROM THE THEATER Toronto film festival musings

A lean, mean British genre machine, “The Disappearance of Alice Creed” delivers the goods and then some. World premiered at TIFF, “Creed” makes a smashing industry calling card for first-time writer-director J. Blakeson and plays like the “Reservoir Dogs”-era Tarantino directing a script by Ira (“Deathtrap”) Levin. I counted at least seven reversals/twists in the pacy 98-minute run time, and never predicted a single one. Great work by Eddie Marsan, Gemma Arterton and “Sweet Sixteen” star Martin Compston who seems poised for a Cillian Murphy-style breakout.

Pittsburgh has never looked bleaker than it does in “The Road,” Australian director John Hillcoat’s long-delayed adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s best-selling post-apocalyptic novel. My only real criticism of Hillcoat’s movie is that it’s possibly too faithful to the letter and spirit of McCarthy’s book, and may lack some individuality as a “motion picture.” But it’s very good, and Viggo Mortensen delivers a haunting lead performance as “The Man.”

I might have had an even more stellar TIFF if I’d been allowed to see some of the year’s most talked-about titles from the international festival circuit. But TIFF powers-that-be stubbornly refused to schedule works by world-class directors like Michael Haneke (the Palme d’Or-winning “The White Ribbon”), Alain Resnais (“Wild Grass”), Lone Scherfig (“An Education”), Francois Ozon (“The Refuge”), Jane Campion (“Bright Star”), Gasper Noe (“Enter the Void”), Claire Denis (“White Material”), Jacques Audiard (“A Prophet”) and Pedro Almodovar (“Broken Embraces”) in the fest’s press/industry screening hub located in the heart of the tony Yorkville shopping district. Since flagging a cab downtown would have been too cost-prohibitive — and because Toronto’s subway system isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be — had no choice but to forfeit that bevy of auteurist goodies.

Better known as the late Heath Ledger’s final film, Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” got its North American premiere at TIFF after a so-so Cannes reception this May. Despite being a veritable feast for the senses — the cinematography, art direction and costume design are to die for — “Parnassus” never really engaged me on an emotional level. The movie feels a bit like Gilliam leafing through a scrapbook of his greatest hits (“The Fisher King,” “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen,” “Time Bandits,” “Brazil,” even a faint whiff of his Monty Python salad days). Besides Ledger, the all- star cast includes Christopher Plummer as the Prospero-like Parnassus, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law. Sony Classics opens it in limited release Christmas Day.

Besides his bravura turn in “Up in the Air,” George Clooney delivered another acting tour-de-force in “The Men Who Stared at Goats,” a pitch-black, fact-based comedy about a top-secret battalion of U.S. soldiers trained in New Age-y combat tactics. As the “Dude”-like leader of these wigged-out “psychic soldiers,” Jeff Bridges merits serious consideration at Oscar time in the Best Supporting Actor race. Ditto Kevin Spacey in a welcome return to snarky character roles.

You know that a film is working when even jaded industry types stay glued to their seats for a 9 a.m. press screening. “The Joneses,” the feature writing-directing debut of graphic artist-turned-filmmaker Derrick Borte, pulled off that enviable feat by virtue of sheer originality. A satirical drama about suburban consumerism run amok, it features first-rate performances by Demi Moore, David Duchovny, Amber Heard and Ben Hollingsworth as members of a nuclear family too good to be true. Even though Borte’s cop-out, smiley-face ending is a tad deflating, some enterprising distributor could turn “The Joneses” into a word-of-mouth sleeper. Stay tuned.

Also deserving of a U.S. distributor’s love is “Ondine,” Neil (“The Crying Game”) Jordan’s elegant slice of blarney about an Irish fisherman (a shaggy-maned Colin Farrell) whose luck changes for the better after fishing out a mysterious young woman — who may or may not be a mermaid — from the sea. This enchanting adult fairy tale could be a tough sell in the states, but it deserves to be seen, and savored, by Jordan and Farrell’s legions of fans.

Two better-than-expected movies that staggered into TIFF battling negative buzz from February’s Berlin Film Festival were Rebecca (“Personal Velocity”) Miller’s “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee” and fest-closer “The Young Victoria.” Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee — a promising French Canadian filmmaker whose “C.R.A.Z.Y.” was one of TIFF’s 2005 discoveries — “Victoria” is simply one of the best British historical films in recent memory. Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend strike palpable sparks as Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and the supporting cast, including such acting heavyweights as Jim Broadbent and Miranda Richardson, rules. I liked it better than either of Cate Blanchett’s “Elizabeth” biopics.

Adapted by Miller from her own novel, “Pippa Lee” stars Robin Wright Penn (superb) as a middle-aged housewife reflecting on her life and not liking what she sees. The eccentric, eclectic cast (Keanu Reeves, Alan Arkin, Winona Ryder, Julianne Moore, Maria Bello and “Gossip Girl”’s Blake Lively as the teenaged Pippa) helped make this one of the fest’s most entertaining treats.

Another thing that continues to make the festival such a crucible is the increasingly rude, obnoxious behavior of many TIFF attendees. Blackberries and cellphones continue to be a pro forma annoyance at press and industry screenings. At times, I felt like the only grown-up in a high school cafeteria.

The lack of additional late-night screenings for some of the more popular movies was both confounding and irritating. Two years ago I was able to see “Lars and the Real Girl,” “No Country for Old Men” and “The Visitor” at 10:30 p.m. This year, nada. Sometimes it almost felt like the festival staff didn’t want critics to see any movies at all.

Speaking of films we weren’t allowed to see, conspicuously absent from TIFF’s groaning board of a lineup was “Amelia” by Toronto favorite Mira (“The Namesake,” “Monsoon Wedding”) Nair. I’m not sure if Nair’s Amelia Earhart biopic wasn’t ready in time, or didn’t pass muster with TIFF taste-makers.

—Milan Paurich, Vindicator correspondent