TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2026 REVIEW! It is nearly impossible to describe The Idiot(s) — it is one of those films that must be seen to be believed. You could say it is a biopic of one of the greatest authors of the 19th century, Fyodor Dostoevsky, but that description would be wildly off the mark, because the film is an absurdist subversion of the 19th-century “great man” biopic. You could say that the film is absurdist, yet it has strong narrative cohesion. You could say it is a comedy, or a character study, but there’s a drama with real stakes. Perhaps the closest approximation is another semi-absurdist take on a real historical figure — Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite — but The Idiot(s) is different again from that. The Idiot(s) is wholly unique and unbelievable, and one of my favorite films from the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival.
“This results in a roulette addiction, and he proceeds to lose all their money.”
Fyodor (Johnny Flynn) has come off of writing Crime and Punishment, and decides to tour Germany with his wife Anna (Aimee Lou Wood). As the two mingle among the high society, Fyodor decides he needs to visit the casino to develop his next character. This results in a roulette addiction, and he proceeds to lose all their money. Meanwhile, he has a severe case of writer’s block and is overdue on the pages he owes his publisher. Anna tries to keep the incorrigible and childish Fyodor in check, while secretly meeting with Dostoevsky’s rival Ivan Turgenev (Christian Friedel). This all sounds perfectly reasonable as a plot, and the broad outlines are true to the historical narrative, for this narrow sliver of Fyodor and Anna’s life. But the writing, performances (in English), character choices, set design, and compositions are thoroughly modern, absurdist, and nearly every would-be serious beat is played for comedy. I’m sure the portrayal on film is nothing at all like reality. That doesn’t matter — it is a stylized modern reinterpretation, blending elements of the experimental fiction Dostoevsky is writing with his true experiences. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas comes to mind, but it also isn’t a perfect analogy. I mean Hunter S. Thompson in Las Vegas just screams punk and hip. Can you imagine attempting something like this with a decidedly literary 19th-century Russian author?
"…This film simply shouldn't work, but it does."
