Up Against It

Saturday, September 19: This screening will be presented with open captions.

Post-marital acrimony and parental devotion make strange bedfellows in this wickedly clever comedy from director Trudie Styler (Posso entrare? An ode to Naples). Centred around the perfect pairing of Oscar nominee Antonio Banderas (TIFF ’19’s Pain and Glory) and Eva Birthistle (TIFF ’05’s Imagine Me & You), Up Against It slyly considers whether a long-dormant sexual companionship can be revived for the sake of a child’s well-being.

Álvaro (Banderas) and Saffron (Birthistle) are very divorced. Their marriage was a disaster from which the only good thing to emerge was their beloved daughter Rose (Eden Hamilton). Their mutual abhorrence is such that they can barely endure the minimal communication required to share custody, so they’re thrown for a serious loop when it’s discovered that, not only does Rose have a rare form of leukemia, but that, given the nature of Rose’s genetic disorder, their best bet at keeping the child healthy and alive is to for Álvaro and Saffron to produce a second child who could provide a transfusion. The ex-spouses balk at the idea — and their new partners don’t fancy it either — but they may have no choice but to bury the hatchet (in bed).

Written by Chloe King (B. Monkey) and Camille Griffin (TIFF ‘21’s Silent Night), Up Against It is an inventive spin on the screwball comedy. Co-starring Oscar nominee Richard E. Grant (TIFF ’18’s Can You Ever Forgive Me?) and Oscar winner Forest Whitaker (TIFF ’06’s The Last King of Scotland), the film is also a winsome showcase for Styler’s ferociously talented ensemble.   Content advisory: sexual content, coarse language, mature themes