John Madden’s film “Onwards and Sideways,” starring Laura Linney and Rhys Ifans, debuts at the Toronto International Film Festival. The romantic drama centers on two people whose lives change after they receive Parkinson’s disease diagnoses, and it focuses on how they navigate their circumstances. Both outlets describe the project as drawing on lived experience and approaching the subject with a mix of seriousness and unexpected warmth.
Variety reports that Madden first encountered the script nearly a decade earlier, after Paul Mayhew-Archer wrote it based on Madden’s experience living with Parkinson’s disease. Deadline adds that Linney and the cast feel the weight of responsibility in telling the story, with Linney saying she has never been as nervous. The coverage frames the film’s presentation at TIFF as an opportunity to reach buyers while Madden, returning to the festival after 16 years, brings the finished work to audiences.
