10 Most Exciting Films Premiering At Toronto Film Festival 2014

8. Black and White

What It's About: Black and White is about a man (Kevin Costner) who loses his wife in a car crash, leaving him to raise their biracial granddaughter, who they've been caring for since birth, all by himself. Still reeling from her death, his world is shaken when the child's paternal grandmother (Octavia Spencer) shows up, demanding that her son, a drug addict who was at least partially responsible for the death of the girl's mother, be granted full custody of the girl, and embroils him in a bitter custody battle. Why You Should Be Excited: When we first read the synopsis of this film, we were all confused about who was going to play the grandfather. Then we realized that Kevin Costner is actually the right age for the role, and we felt terribly old. That said, we're curious to see what they're going to do with this one. It sounds like an interesting premise, but it also sounds like the kind of film that could fall into the trap of insensitively using racial stereotypes -- it's the black father who is addicted to drugs, and the upstanding white man is nobly trying to protect his granddaughter, that sort of thing. But if done right, it could have the potential to be a really solid film. In Octavia Spencer we trust.