With the Venice Film Festival passing the halfway mark towards its finale, two British films, Shame and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy are early favorites in the running for the festival’s top awards.
Shame, from filmmaker Steve McQueen stars Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan in a film set in New York City that tells a gripping story of sex addiction.
Colin Firth steals the show in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, but Polanski’s highly-anticipated Carnage was also generating buzz after its screening. George Clooney's film, which opened the Venice Film Festival last week, seemed to be well-received but did not result in much critical acclaim.
Madonna presented her latest directorial project: W.E., telling the story of Wallis Simpson. Wallis was an American socialite who became the Duchess of Windsor when King Edward VIII abdicated his throne to marry her. The film has met with praise from some and giggles from others who criticized it as ‘vacant'.
Al Pacino also debuted an out of competition film when he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement award. Unfortunately, Wilde Salome was met with little enthusiasm. Al Pacino attempts to capture the essence of Oscar Wilde with little success.
Madonna presented the Gucci Award for Women in Cinema 2011 to Jessica Chastain, but movie lovers will have to wait until the weekend to find out which of the favourite films presented this year will be awarded the coveted Golden Lion.
