TIFF 2026 Review: The Julia Set

A gifted university student who becomes romantically involved with a teaching assistant as they both prepare for the Putnam Exam.

Caught by surprise that she has been recruited for a group of mathematic protégés preparing for The Putnam Exam by her teaching assistant, Julia finds herself embarking on a passionate affair and getting the opportunity to put her intellectual prowess to the test.  However, problems arise but not of the numeric variety, which will either make Julia stronger or be her undoing.

Chase Infiniti has a soulfulness and quietness that makes her an impressive talent, as she is already a master of subtlety.  Christopher Briney has a showy role which is justified by his moodiness and daddy issues.  Jason Isaacs does play the typical overbearing parental figure, however, there is such a nasty edge to the performance that it makes him a formidable asshole.  The pleasant surprise is Nico Hiraga as he initially appears as a goofy background character but is later on allowed to awaken his inner Jeff Bridges to great effect.

No doubt that it is hard to photograph mathematical equations on pages, computer screens and chalkboards in a cinematic fashion but a worthy solution appears onscreen.  The camerawork is not fancy which is a good thing, while the editing does not linger too long on shots.  The colour palette is more naturalistic rather than desaturated which is a welcome choice.   The story is conventional in that it was a given from the beginning that the affair between the student and the teaching assistant would not end well.  This is because the nature of the subject matter means that jealousy reigns over admiration.  As for the dialogue, it is hard at times to believe that someone would say those words to someone else but then again, narcissists do exist in the world.

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.