Saturday Night was easily my most anticipated movie of TIFF ’24 and it did NOT disappoint whatsoever. The story about the 90 minutes leading up to SNL’s premiere are nothing short of exciting. It manages to balance so many things all at once while telling each story in depth as much as possible. Thanks to a phenomenal ensemble cast, fantastic direction and production values, as well as an unsung hero in the score, Saturday Night is easily one of the year’s finest.

The ensemble is the star of the show here. Reitman and Kenan got STARS for their lineup of cast members. The ensemble consists of Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O’Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, and J. K. Simmons.

Got all that? Yeah, we know, pretty amazing cast!

Each actor and actress gets so much time to shine, allowing for each of them to have a moment. However, it’s LaBelle, Sennott and Smith who steal scenes and portray their characters the most accurately. Smith has Chase’s mannerisms (including the actor’s famous unlikeability) to perfection and he is easily going to be the fan-favourite. LaBelle and Sennott have wonderful chemistry together, and I think with one more poignant scene, Sennott could have crashed the awards race no problem. Braun pulling double duty as Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson is also a delight, showing off his range in a post-Succession world.

The direction is fast-paced, thrilling and chaotic. I mean this in the best way possible. The use of the “real-time” gimmick by Reitman is clever and only heightens your nervousness watching the film. It’s miraculous to evoke these feelings from an audience about the movie, especially when you already know everything will be fine. However, Reitman has you on the edge of your seat constantly, making you think it’ll never go to air. This is a pretty incredible thing to do and you feel that intensity even after the movie is over. The pacing is lighting quick and its all for the better. The editing from Nathan Orloff and Shane Reid is integral to this, collaborating with Reitman once again to make this movie magic happen.

Production-value wise, the film looks and feels incredible. Everything is screaming 1975 and every set looks like it’s from that time. The costumes, hair, and feel of everything inject you with that nostalgic feeling. The decision to shoot the movie on film as well is a welcome addition, bringing more realism than ever to the final product. The cherry on top is easily the score from Jon Batiste, who also has a minor role in the film. His score is excellent and the unsung hero of the movie and it’s a shame it’ll be lost within other excellent scores in the award season this year.

Saturday Night is one of the most electric movies of 2024. Thanks to a fantastic ensemble, pitch-perfect direction, and incredible production design, this movie is sure to have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.