EIFF 2009: And that's a wrap!

The Skinny’s Film Editor Gail Tolley talks through her highlights of this year’s film festival.

Unmade Beds – A beautiful and sensitive account of a handful of 20-somethings living in a squat in east London. Whilst the characters are very cool and enviously good-looking, the film avoids descending into a trendier-than-thou work of style over substance by focusing on the fragile forging of human connections. A couple who’ve just met drunkenly sway down a hotel corridor, a hand follows the banister of the stairs and you’re immediately taken into a blissful daze of drunken happiness. There’s also  a wonderful soundtrack including songs by Kimya Dawson, Tindersticks, Jeffrey Lewis and Greek band Mary and the Boy who are a real find (especially if you’re into girl-generated punk madness).

Adventureland – If like me, you’re not a fan of the sort of comedy aimed at 14-year-old boys and equally not interested in seeing the next Napolean Dynamite you’d be forgiven for having given Adventureland a miss. That would be a shame as it’s actually quite different from both. Don’t expect over the top indie quirkiness or lines played for big laughs but do expect a rather sweet story with wonderful performances by Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale) and Kristen Stewart (Into the Wild).

Baraboo - A story that crept up on me and left me with an undeniable and unexpected bond with this collection of small town American characters. This is Mary Sweeney’s first film as director although she has worked closely on many of David Lynch’s films and in particular wrote, produced and edited The Straight Story, with which Baraboo shares many similarities. At times it’s difficult to tell whether the tone of this film is darkly comic but mostly it feels very tender and having had the privilege of speaking to Mary briefly whilst she was at the festival it was touching to hear her speak of her characters with such respect and fondness, something which comes through in the film.

Mary and Max – An adult animation that feels like a grown-up film version of a Roald Dahl story with all the charm and intelligence you’d expect from that. Mary and Max is filled with some wonderful details that only the keen eye will spot and is visualised in beautiful sepia with the odd smattering of colour. There are also voices by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Toni Colette.

35 Shots of Rum – Beautifully delicate, Claire Denis’ latest film subtlety captures the changing relationships of a family and their close friends. Attractively shot by cinematographer Agnes Godard the film starts with hazy footage shot through the windscreen of a city train. These images are accompanied by a melancholy soundtrack by Tindersticks (who also provided the music for Denis’ 2001 horror Trouble Every Day) which sets a mood of quietness and underlying sorrow.

The Girlfriend Experience – One of the big name features of this year’s festival, Soderbergh presents his audience with a fragmented exploration of consumerist society. And immersed in this setting is Chelsea, a high-class New York escort, who meets with a series of men who talk of nothing but the current financial crisis. The film captures its characters in a cold and detached manner and almost all of the dialogue, whether it be from Chelsea, her boyfriend Chris or her many clients is concerned with money. The Girlfriend Experience portrays an empty and unattractive society where sex and human connection is as much a commodity as the expensive clothes these people wear.