At the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Wednesday evening, the crowd for a preview screening of Red Lights was a decidedly pro-Cillian Murphy one. As the star of the film came out to (quietly) introduce the film alongside director Rodrigo Cortés, a shockingly high percentage of the females in attendance audibly swooned. Director Cortes told the audience to avoid having any expectations prior to the film, as he felt the movie works best when the audience has an open mind, something that is almost indisputably true.

The question and answer session after the film was enjoyable, as director Cortes continued to explain why he wanted the film to surprise its audiences and keep them talking as they left the theatre. Murphy discussed his method of preparation for his role, specifically how he did enormous amounts of research upon initially receiving the role before delving into the psychology of his character’s decision-making throughout the film. Both men answered interesting questions, and some slightly less than interesting ones as well, and the audience seemed to generally enjoy the film, as well as the discussion afterwards.

Photo Credit: Marc Levy