Toronto: 'Purgatory' Debut by Lindsay Lanzillotta Explores Divorce and Girl Power at TIFF

TIFF: The Market in Toronto is handling sales for Lindsay Lanzillotta’s debut feature 'Purgatory'.

The film is set in the 1980s and centers on 13‑year‑old Beatrice Gravel, played by newcomer Ruby McGurrin; the cast also includes J.K. Simmons, Abby Elliott and John Reynolds. Producers are Lanzillotta, Simone Kirlew, Aldo Lanzillotta, Denis Gumustas, Mark O’Neill and Gus Murray.

The story begins when Beatrice’s mother, Marianne Gravel (Elliott), steps away from the family, prompting the girl to question her family and faith. Father Joe Gravel (Reynolds) tries to hold the family together while caring for Beatrice and her sister Chloe (Lauren MacRae).

Lanzillotta says she worked from a Christine Speer screenplay to inhabit Beatrice’s interior life — a tween who is simultaneously naive and acutely aware of trauma. J.K. Simmons’s Father Malone functions as a kind, assuring mentor for Beatrice during confessional scenes.

The coming‑of‑age dramedy mixes darker moments with comic beats: an officer named Boyd Safety warns a gathering about predatory strangers, and a teacher (Mary Walsh) gives a fire‑and‑brimstone lecture about purgatory. Beatrice pursues a Parent Trap–style plan to reunite her parents while Marianne takes a younger lover (Jack Innanen) and Joe begins a new relationship.

Lanzillotta calls casting McGurrin a gamble she felt was justified after auditions, saying McGurrin “was her” and communicates much through her face. The director leaves judgement of the parents to audiences and praises John Reynolds’s performance as a reason many viewers side with the father.

Gersh agent Jessica Lacey is marketing 'Purgatory' at TIFF: The Market.