The 53rd Telluride Film Festival opened on Friday, 5 September in Colorado, running through the Labor Day weekend, and Deadline is compiling its reviews of the films screening there. The festival lacks major studio blockbusters but draws strong specialty and awards-season interest, with Focus Features and Searchlight Pictures each bringing one title, alongside a wave of world and North American premieres, several following on from bows at the Venice Film Festival.

Notable premieres include Mike Leigh's Tender Loving Care and Simon Stone's Elsinore, starring Andrew Scott, both opening the festival, plus Martin McDonagh's Wild Horse Nine with John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell, Jesse Eisenberg's The Debut with Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti, and films from Andrew Haigh, Guy Nattiv, Danny Boyle and Werner Herzog. Early reviews single out Andrew Scott's performance as actor Ian Charleson in Elsinore as a standout, while Mike Leigh's Tender Loving Care is praised as a quieter, character-driven family drama.