Review- Nocturnal Animals


Nocturnal Animals is the second film from Tom Ford, director of A Single Man, and tells three separate stories that are all very much linked. At the core of the film is the story of art gallery director, played by Amy Adams, who lives a largely pointless world. Her husband is often away on business trips, probably having an affair and almost pretending she doesn't exist. One day, Adams gets a copy of her ex husband's (Jake Gyllenhal) new novel and she starts to notice scary parallels between the fictional characters and the real world. The film unfolds across three timelines, the present, the past and the novel, a story about a family who end up stuck in the Texan desert. It's a very smart way of telling a very interesting story and it allows you to gradually connect the dots between the worlds.

As you should have worked out, there are some fantastic performances here. The main one and probably one of the greatest in the film is Amy Adams. She has to carry most of the big dramatic actions but she really sells her performance with the little actions like when we get reaction shots from her reading the novel. It's a great performance and one I hope will get an Oscar nomination. The other actors are equally great in the film too. Gyllenhal is an utterly compelling character in the narrative of the novel and he has most of the big moments to portray and does as great a job, as he does in every film. Michael Shannon comes off his recent run of great performances in 99 Homes and Midnight Special with another great yet slightly creepy performance as a small town detective. Finally, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is one of the creeps of the novel and keeps proving that he's no longer just the guy from Kick-Ass and is actually consistently a really good actor.

It feels weird for there to be key characteristics of a Tom Ford film when he's only done two but they exist and this film fits them. First is the orchestral score that haunts and delights in equal measure. There aren't quite the refrains from A Single Man but the score is still there and it highlights the pure emotion of each moment. The second way it fits in with Ford's style and something that is truly the highlight of the film is the visuals. In many ways but especially when it comes to cinematography, this film is absolutely beautiful. Every single shot is crafted to perfection and very deliberate. Even when what you're seeing on screen is... not typically beautiful can be made to be visually stunning. If you watch this film for one thing, let it be the visuals, they are a masterclass in how to make shots look great yet be completely essential to your story.

Personally, I didn't enjoy Nocturnal Animals quite as much as A Single Man but that really doesn't mean this is a bad film at all. In fact, it's really good. It's thrilling, it's intense and it is just something that needs to be seen due to it's genuine beauty. It may be lacking that spark that A Single Man has but I would still highly recommend this film and give it a


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