Canadian Film Fest 2019: Our Review Of ‘Nose To Tail’

Canadian Film Fest 2019: Our Review Of ‘Nose To Tail’

In Nose to Tail, Aaron Abrams, the “Hey, that guy!”, of Canadian independent films and “Hannibal”, tears into a starring role sure to at least get him some notice from the Canadian Scene Awards. And he deserves it – as the constantly on-edge owner of a snazzy Toronto restaurant, Abrams kicks up a storm as the biggest asshole movie chef since Bradley Cooper hyperventilated around Burnt.

Set over the course of one hectic day, fading star Daniel (Abrams) has to contend with changes in personnel, the landlord hounding him for overdue rent, a popular food truck setting up shop across the street, and much more, all while trying to prepare a perfect meal for the VIP guest of the evening, an old school friend expressing interest in investing. With the restaurant in the red and his own personal funds drying up, Daniel desperately needs the money. But considering that he can’t stop drinking or carrying on a wildly inappropriate on-and-off sexual relationship with his hostess, it’s going to be a rocky road to the finish line.

Fellow “Hannibal” alum Lara Jean Chorostecki stars as the aforementioned hostess Chloe, bringing some fire to a role that could have been written a little more daringly. But this is Abrams’s show all the way, camera nervously following him around as he slowly but surely loses his mind as the hours roll on. And while he no doubt makes Daniel a despicable person, there’s something riveting in that mess of ego and self-destructiveness that makes you unable to look away.

Debut writer-director Jesse Zigelstein’s script is a little less sure of itself, shying away from the rougher edges of the story at times in favour of bad jokes. But he does eventually allow things to play out naturally, closing on a poignantly bleak note.

  • Release Date: 3/20/2019
This post was written by
After his childhood dream of playing for the Mighty Ducks fell through, Mark turned his focus to the glitz and glamour of the movies. He's covered the extensive Toronto film scene for online outlets and is a filmmaker himself, currently putting the final touches on a low-budget (okay, no-budget) short film to be released in the near future. You can also find him behind the counter as product manager of Toronto's venerable film institution, Bay Street Video.
Comments are closed.
(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-61364310-1', 'auto'); ga('send', 'pageview');