TIFF 2026 Review: The Surgeon – “There is a quirky edge to everything”

A kidnapped surgeon is forced to perform one last operation.

Warned as to how isolating and consuming it is to become a surgeon, a young medical intern decides to pursue the career anyway and subsequently discovers upon her retirement that she is lost without being in an operating room.  However, the boredom is cut short when the surgeon is abducted and at gunpoint has to remove a tumour from a mysterious patient.  Realizing she will be executed upon completion, all of the anatomical expertise comes in handy when dealing with her kidnappers.

When Michelle Yeoh is dwarfed by Laurie Davidson, it is hard not to laugh at this mismatch given the former’s history as a martial artist.  This played upon to great effect throughout the story though the skillset knowledge has been altered to an intricate understanding of the inner workings of the human body.  This highlighted to great effect with the narration of the title character explaining what she is doing to her attackers and the actual visual representation of what is actually happening to their muscles, bones and tissue.  One cannot help but wince in admiration and horror.  It is this approach which leads to quite a few WTF moments.

Michelle Yeoh is reliable as ever as she plays everything straight and with a cool efficiency and ingenuity which makes you want to stay on her good side.  Yuri Kolokolnikov resembles what a young John Malkovich would be if he was an ill-tempered oversized henchman.  Martin Freeman must have gained weight for the role as he certainly looks heavier and acts like a heavy.   There is a quirky edge to everything that makes things more comical than horrific but then again this not a lighthearted affair as death comes in many unexpected ways, especially when relying upon a surgical toolkit rather than a gun.

The 51st Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10-20, 2026, and for more information visit tiff.net.   

Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer who currently resides in Canada; he can be found at LinkedIn.