TIFF 2023: Uproar Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

A coming-of-age dramedy with a gritty twist, Uproar will have audiences feeling all the feelings. Taking plenty of familiar themes and story beats, this fictional story grounds them in a historical context that brings the film added emotion and stakes.  Contending with multiple tones over the course of its near 2-hour running time, they all work together in service of that story. A bit of a rollercoaster, what holds it all together is a fantastic performance from Julian Dennison, the undisputed heart of the film. With this film, he more than proves that he is capable of handling bigger and more emotionally-demanding roles. Playing a flawed yet relatable character, his likeability make it easy to connect with his character. The story sees Dennison play Josh, a 17-year-old student whose goal was merely to keep his head down and survive. Following the death of his father, his family faced hard time as his mother Shirley (Driver) struggled to support he and his brother Jamie (James Rolleston), focusing on working hard and spending most of her time away from them.

Meanwhile, as the 1981 South African rugby team toured across New Zealand, their appearance created controversy and sparked protests across the country against their country for letting them play in spite of their apartheid policy. A slow burning powder keg in the background, it made for some added tension. The plight of the Black population of South Africa at the hands of apartheid shared similarities to the treatment of Māori people in New Zealand to which Josh was not immune. Mostly keeping to himself, he soon was forced to face with his own identity and gets up from the proverbial fence he had been sitting on for the majority of his life. Seeing potential in Josh, one of his teachers (Darby) sparked an interest in acting. While the prospects of his future were nowhere near his radar, he was good. The introspective nature of acting led to him taking a deeper look into himself and that newfound perspective began to change things as he moved forward. 

As mentioned, Uproar is led by a fantastic performance from Dennison who gets to show off his range. Bringing an innate likeability many have grown accustomed to, he brings range and a real star-making energy as he will have audiences laughing as much as they will be cheering and crying. On top of that Josh’s journey over the course of the film was compelling to watch and easily the best part of the film. Rounding out that journey was strong supporting performances from Darby, Driver, and Rolleston, with the latter being the standout. That being said, it was still Dennison’s film through and through.

At the end of the day, Uproar is a stellar dramedy features plenty of familiar coming-of-age beats but frames them in a captivating way. Julian Dennison has come a long way.

*still courtesy of TIFF*

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.