TIFF 2026 Review: Gentle Monster

The idyllic family life of a experimental musician is torn apart when her husband is charged with committing sex crimes.

While Lucy Weiss deconstructs pop songs on the piano, she discovers her husband Philip having a panic attack.  Everything settles down and the couple go about constructing an outdoor trampoline for their young son Johnny.  The maelstrom arrives when the police arrive with warrants to confiscate the computer and data storage of Philip under the suspicion of him involved with the distribution of child pornography.   The question becomes why he had the illegal content in the first place and the answer keeps changing to the point that Lucy begins to wonder whether Johnny has been preyed upon by her husband.

The two stories of the Weiss family dealing with the sexual offence accusations and the police officer leading the investigation having to deal with a mentally deteriorating father who is turning into a sexual predator come across as disjointed rather than feeding off of each other.  The opening song of “Would I Lie to You?” by Charles and Eddie, reinterpreted by Lucy is hardly a subtle revelation of a prevailing theme.  A dramatic reaction that comes across as believable occurs when the musician takes out her frustrations on a piano which leads to the audience giving a standing ovation.

Léa Seydoux conveys everything from bewilderment to vulnerability to anger as Lucy that it is hard not to feel sympathy for the character.  Laurence Rupp embodies Philip as someone who has been ensnared by a web of lies that becomes tighter and tighter.  Malo Blanchet gives Johnny a spoiled brat attitude that is age-appropriate. Jellas Haase oozes coldness and social awkwardness as sex crimes unit office Else Kühn.   The main area of interest is not in the why but in the how people react to a loved one being accused of a serious crime. The fact that Philip seems to have a normal family life makes his actions all the more disturbing.

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.