The chance to hear Mr. Coppola was the result of some wild luck. At TIFF you can stand in line to request a seat at any event. But those that feature legendary actors or directors fill up fast. If you're not prepared to wait an hour or two at the box office, forget it. For me, a week of travel is too precious to spend standing still, so I usually skip events that require a long wait -- even though I've shared memorable moments with producers and writers in TIFF lines. This year, after 40 minutes of waiting to pick up my ticket package, I made a random inquiry about availability for Coppola's premiere of Twixt. Even the TIFF guy couldn't believe my good fortune when he discovered there was one spot left. More serendipity brought me a seat very near the man who directed The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and other unforgettable films.
Twixt was a fascinating experiment in story telling that had little in common with Coppola's best known works. Some story elements were drawn from straight from horror movies -- others had the emotional tone of serious character studies. Visual elements shift from frames of hand colored black and white photographs to highly stylized 3D sequences that could have been designed by Hitchcock himself. Since the plot of Twixt has Gothic overtones, I expect the film to appear in theaters around Halloween. But the most important aspect of the movie is the personal conflict that propelled its development.
Coppola is known for his expansive vision and massive appetites. His big belly is the central feature of a man who has overspent on budgets for some films that flopped like harpooned whales. But his explanation of Twixt revealed some of the personal turmoil that his prior excesses nearly hid. Tragic deaths lie at the core of the plot; denial drives the actions of the lead character. In his comments after the film, Coppola revealed that these themes mirrored his own epic pain over losing a child. He said that the film's plot came to him through a dream he had in Turkey one night after drinking too much wine. While the ending of the story was not revealed to him, his dream showed him that the key to resolving of the film's conflict was buried inside of him. Considering Coppola's work in light of his personal losses makes it's easier to forgive him some of the excesses he displayed in his career. Twixt was also a lot of fun to watch. It's spooky, visually compelling, and it gave Val Kilmer a chance to show comedic talent he didn't need when good looks were all the camera demanded. Kilmer is not beautiful in Twixt, but he looked good on stage in Toronto. It was also a treat to hear a former Batman laugh out loud. For me, the whole premiere was a reminder that our best creative work is often driven by memories that remain undead no matter how often we plunge a stake in them.
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