You know what movie didn’t get a fair shake in theatres? Philippe Falardeau’s The Good Lie, which was unceremoniously dumped by Warner Bros. in October of 2014 when it became clear that Jean-Marc Vallee’s Wild was the Reese Witherspoon movie America was willing to get behind.
And in terms of Witherspoon’s Oscar chances … well, sure. She’s not even in the first hour of The Good Lie. But Falardeau’s movie is legitimately great, and watching it slide past its potential audience really stuck in my craw. So when Harbourfront asked me to program this year’s Free Flicks slate, I made sure it was on my list — and I’m presenting it tonight, down by our nice cool lake.
Need further encouragement? Here are my TIFF interviews with Falardeau and the real stars of the film: Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal and Kuoth Weil. Read ’em, and come on down. I’ll save you a seat.