Nocturnal Animals review
Tom Ford’s beautifully made and slick looking Nocturnal Animals combines both the precision of wonderful direction and cinematography alongside the gripping story of an excellent thriller.
Amy Adams plays a depressed art gallery owner, Susan Morrow, who’s highly successful but lives a lonely existence within her unhappy marriage. When she receives a manuscript from her ex-husband Edward Sheffield, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, she is both intrigued and unnerved by it’s dedication to her and title of ‘Nocturnal Animals’ a nickname Edward had for her. The manuscript also includes an invite to meet for dinner during Edward’s visit to New York. Her emotions are stirred and we the audience have no idea yet what we are in for.
Once she begins to read the novel the film becomes a film within a film, as Susan projects herself and Edward into the characters and narrative, we see the story develop on screen. The film then cuts between her real life and the moments when she’s reading the book, which slowly unravels and reveals the history of Susan and Edward. The dark subject matter of the book mirrors the mood and regret Susan has for what’s she’s seemingly sacrificed for her now aspirational life.
Adams and Gyllenhaal both excel here and the film is totally mesmerising for both its performances and its presentation. Adam’s subtlety of pain and regret resonates through the screen and Gyllenhaal as ‘Noturnal Animals’ protagonist Tony is heartbreaking and so intense that at times it’s truly uncomfortable to immerse yourself within it.
The supporting cast are also deserving of accolades. Michael Shannon as cop Bobby is mysterious, funny and composed while villain Ray, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, takes the viewer into a mind that we’d really rather not go.
It’s worth mentioning that the opening of the film is one you won’t forget anytime soon and as with the rest of film it is unexpectedly confronting. As well as looking phenomenal, the ability to seamlessly flip between two dramatically different locations around the two stories shows the genius of Ford who maintains the general mood and eerie temperament of this deeply emotive film. It really is something quite special for cinema in this blockbuster age.
Nocturnal Animals is a provocative and deeply emotive film which is simply one not to be missed.
Reviewed by Ingrid Grenar
