Leo, a guy in the seventh grade gets harassed by a two years older boy in school and seeks revenge. At the same time, Ali, the father of a girl in Leo's class (who Leo has a crush on) is contacted by a opposition group from his home country that wants Ali to assassinate an important man for them. Otherwise, they'll kill the family that Ali left when moving to Sweden.
It’s no wonder Peele won an academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. His script is layered with perspective and subtlety. Through a terrific vision, Peele creates the gift that keeps on giving. The clues and symbolic representations are aplenty, and as each viewing passes, you are destined to find something new. That’s a mark of great cinema.
Seriously, and this is coming from someone who was extremely skeptical before giving it a watch. I assumed the show would be painfully boring, but one of the show's strongest qualities is you needn't know anything about the lore to get invested in it.
Hitchcock is no stranger to innuendo, as was common in that era, but there was something so sophisticated about his approach to 'Rope', and it starts in the first frame.
'Midnight at the Paradise' premieres tomorrow at Toronto's Paradise Theatre! I had the pleasure to sit down with Vanessa Matsui to discuss the making of this film.
2026 ranks highest in Oscars history for its representation of minorities in all categories, and that’s definitely something to be celebrated.
