Reviews

Well, a couple of reviews are in for Cole. The two biggest so far come from the CBC and Variety. First, Eli Glasner's CBC review:

COLE ****

Cole is a big movie about a small town. Our eyes and ears are Cole, an aspiring writer struggling with multiple problems including a catatonic mother and his sister's useless drunk of a husband.

Then, life gets more complicated when Cole meets another aspiring writer played by Kandyse McClure (seen recently in Battlestar Galactica.)

The pedantic plot doesn't do justice to this extremely moving film.

Imagine a tone poem filled with summer skies, long drives and an absent mother's eyes. To quote Cole himself it's "definitely beautiful.

Not bad, right? We got a half a star more than the much anticipated movie The Road.

Now, a piece of John Anderson's Variety review:

Drama needs conflict, but what Bessai offers mostly is tension. One waits all through the movie for Cole to do something about Bobby (Willett is a convincingly nasty example of the Angry White Guy), whose behavior is beyond reprehensible, and it's significant that what pushes Cole over the edge isn't Bobby's treatment of his sister, but of her son. What Adam Zang's script is really about, although no one involved seems to know it, is domestic abuse: Just as the movie gives the issue secondary status, so do the people in the film.

Ehh... not so good. But! A brilliant movie fan posts this in the comments section of the review:

Dear Mr. Anderson,

I've never read a review by you until today. It's unfortunate you didn't see the true gem that "Cole" really is. It may not have "A" list actors. The story may be a simple one about a little family in a little town, but what makes "Cole" stand out from other films of this genre, is that you really care about EVERY CHARACTER in this film...good and bad. I haven't felt this compassionate about a simple little movie, since "The Good Girl", some seven years ago. In your opinion, the ending may not have ended like you so desired, but then, when does real life do that?
"Cole" deserves every accolade it will hopefully receive.

Thanks for coming to our defense, good sir.

TIFF Update

Vancouver Film School has done a brief profile about Cole and my plans for the Toronto International Film Festival here.

Here is a full synopsis of all the Canadian films at TIFF from their official website. Just let me say that I am proud, as an American, to be included in the Canadian lineup. No schedule released as of yet.

Also, here is a link to the Province, which has a nice blurb about Cole and a great picture of Verne Troyer (also a fellow Michigander!) with Terry Gilliam.

Things are busier than ever in Rewrite Land. Getting a Northbridge draft ready to send out to the Titlecard guys tomorrow, and shoring up the first draft of my heist spec with fellow (I've used "fellow" twice already in this post-- I need a break from writing) VFS grad Sean Minogue (who also happened to write the brilliant VFS profile).

Time to get back to it...

Cole to Premiere at Toronto

Here we go... Cole has been officially selected to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Woot!

From writing a first draft in the rain in Vancouver, to working on dialogue on a train to Michigan, to finishing up a final polish on the drive home to Seattle... I officially have a written by credit premiering at TIFF. Crazy.

You can read a brief synopsis of the official selections in Variety (Variety!) here, where Cole and Carl Bessai get a nice little mention. You can also read a full selection of the films here.

I will post more as a schedule is published and more news released, but in the meantime you can still watch the Cole trailer here.