'Drive My Car' takes top prize at TFCA's

Ryusuke Hamaguchi’sDrive My Car took three top awards from the Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA), including Best Picture, Best International Film and Best Screenplay on Sunday night.

The Japanese Film Drive My Car is about Yusuke Kafuku, a stage actor and director is happily married to Oto, a screenwriter. However, Oto suddenly dies after leaving behind a secret. 2 years later, Kafuku, still unable to fully cope with the loss of his wife, receives an offer to direct a play at a theatre festival and drives to Hiroshima with his car.

There, he meets Misaki, a reticent woman assigned to become his chauffeur, As they spend time together, Kafuku confronts the mystery of his wife that quietly haunts him.

Along with Drive My Car, Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut The Lost Daughter took home three awards as well including the Best Actress prize for Olivia Colman, Best Supporting Actress for Jessie Buckley and an award for Best First Feature for Gyllenhaal.

Coming of her win at the Golden Globes, the TFCA gave New Zealand director Jane Campion the award for Best Director for The Power of the Dog.

Denzel Washington was named Best Actor for his starring role in Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth.

Bradley Cooper took Best Supporting Actor for his deranged portrayal of legendary Hollywood producer Jon Peters in Paul Thomas Anderson’s coming-of-age story set in 1970s Los Angeles, Licorice Pizza.

"In a tough year for moviegoing, the Toronto Film Critics’ honorees remind us of the power of cinema,” said Johanna Schneller, TFCA president.

“Our awards reflect the breadth and depth of film: the spare-ness of Denzel Washington’s Best Actor performance in Macbeth, the wildness of Bradley Cooper’s Best Supporting Actor turn in Licorice Pizza and the varieties of artistry in Flee and Summer of Soul. Women won our Best Director and Best First Feature prizes. In a first, Best Actress Olivia Colman and Best Supporting Actress Jessie Buckley won for playing the same character at two different ages in The Lost Daughter.

"Our most lauded film, Drive My Car, is a controlled, gorgeous Japanese film about a Russian play. By spreading the wins among so many different films, the TFCA once again demonstrates our love for this art form, in all its many forms," the TFCA president added.

The complete list of 2021 TFCA Award winners is as follows:

Best Picture: Drive My Car (Films We Like)

Runners-Up: Licorice Pizza (Universal Pictures Canada) The Power of the Dog (Netflix)

Best Director: Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog (Netflix)

Runners-Up: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car (Films We Like) Denis Villeneuve, Dune (Warner Bros. Canada)

Best Actress: Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter (Netflix)

Runners-up: Penélope Cruz, Parallel Mothers (Mongrel Media) Kristen Stewart, Spencer (Elevation Pictures)

Best Actor: Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth (AppleTV+)

Runners-Up: Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog (Netflix) Andrew Garfield, tick, tick…BOOM! (Netflix)

Best Supporting Actress: Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter (Netflix)

Runners-Up: Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog (Netflix) Ruth Negga, Passing (Netflix)

Best Supporting Actor: Bradley Cooper, Licorice Pizza (Universal Pictures Canada)

Runners-Up: Ciarán Hinds, Belfast (Universal Pictures Canada) Kodi Smith-McPhee, The Power of the Dog (Netflix)

Best Screenplay: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe, Drive My Car (Films We Like)

Runners-Up: Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza (Universal Pictures Canada) Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog (Netflix)