This morning I saw Nocturnal Animals, starring Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Susan (Adams) is an affluent member of the art world, living day-by-day in an unfulfilling marriage to her second husband, Hutton (Armie Hammer). One day, she receives a manuscript from Edward (Gyllenhaal), who she left nearly two decades prior. It wasn't a pleasant break-up.
Home alone with Hutton traveling, Susan becomes riveted by the story spun by her ex, as the characters mirror those in her former life—plus, he dedicated the work to her.
As an audience, we enter the mind of Susan and become engulfed in the plot as she does. And it's a brutal one.
The father in the story (mirroring Edward) is driving his wife (mirroring Susan) and daughter to west Texas late one night. When another car drives aggressively on the highway, Edward tries to lose it, but is unsuccessful. What starts as road rage soon becomes far more sinister and the story becomes one nail-biting scene after another.
Tom Ford's direction is seamless. We only catch our breath when Susan does, as she looks up from the pages to digest what her mind's eye just witnessed.
The scenes within the manuscript with Gyllenhaal and later Michael Shannon, who's the detective assigned to investigate the crime, are heartbreaking, exciting and sometimes even morbidly funny.
I found myself holding my breath, gripping the armrests and having to look away throughout. The tension-build was unimaginable and the payoff horrific, if somewhat predictable.
I can't imagine this will be ignored during awards season; it would be a travesty to deny such an extraordinary ensemble.
I'll be rooting for them every step of the way.
~~~
Showing posts with label Jake Gyllenhaal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jake Gyllenhaal. Show all posts
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Nightcrawler
Tonight I screened Nightcrawler, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo.
Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal) is an aspiring breaking-news photographer in Los Angeles who covets a relationship with Nina (Russo), a news director at a local station that's suffering in the ratings.
Though he has no formal training, Bloom is confident that he's a quick study, and begins to apprentice professionals already on the job—without their permission. He soon becomes good enough to get some clips on the air and hires a homeless assistant, Rick (Riz Ahmed), who is as desperate for employment as Bloom is for success.
The trouble is, Bloom doesn't seem to have a conscience when it comes to reporting. Ethics aren't what advances a photographer's career, so he focuses on the things that do: bloody crime scenes and accidents in suburbia. His methods cross the line of appropriate and his negotiating tactics, for more money and more recognition, are beyond reproach.
Scene after scene, Gylenhaal impresses us as the dangerous kind of narcissist that can't see beyond his own ego. His hollow smile coupled with his sharp, yet condescending lectures show a level of crazy that we haven't seen before in the actor. Perhaps what's so frightening is that he seems such a natural fit.
Russo matches his level of energy as the boss who will risk everything to keep her job, even if it means rewarding reprehensible behavior.
To add to the fun, the dialogue will make you angry at yourself for partially appreciating Bloom's wit, and oddly (sometimes) even rooting for him to get to the story first. After all, he's working hard for it.
Of course no matter of warped charisma or set of brass balls can excuse the evil that sneaks out when anyone puts humanity second to their own pursuits.
It's just a shame that our society is presently so twisted, none of this seems too far-fetched to be believable.
~~~
Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal) is an aspiring breaking-news photographer in Los Angeles who covets a relationship with Nina (Russo), a news director at a local station that's suffering in the ratings.
Though he has no formal training, Bloom is confident that he's a quick study, and begins to apprentice professionals already on the job—without their permission. He soon becomes good enough to get some clips on the air and hires a homeless assistant, Rick (Riz Ahmed), who is as desperate for employment as Bloom is for success.
The trouble is, Bloom doesn't seem to have a conscience when it comes to reporting. Ethics aren't what advances a photographer's career, so he focuses on the things that do: bloody crime scenes and accidents in suburbia. His methods cross the line of appropriate and his negotiating tactics, for more money and more recognition, are beyond reproach.
Scene after scene, Gylenhaal impresses us as the dangerous kind of narcissist that can't see beyond his own ego. His hollow smile coupled with his sharp, yet condescending lectures show a level of crazy that we haven't seen before in the actor. Perhaps what's so frightening is that he seems such a natural fit.
Russo matches his level of energy as the boss who will risk everything to keep her job, even if it means rewarding reprehensible behavior.
To add to the fun, the dialogue will make you angry at yourself for partially appreciating Bloom's wit, and oddly (sometimes) even rooting for him to get to the story first. After all, he's working hard for it.
Of course no matter of warped charisma or set of brass balls can excuse the evil that sneaks out when anyone puts humanity second to their own pursuits.
It's just a shame that our society is presently so twisted, none of this seems too far-fetched to be believable.
~~~
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Prisoners
Today I saw Prisoners, starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Keller (Jackman) and Grace (Maria Bello), have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with their neighbors Franklin (Terrence Howard) and Nancy (Viola Davis).
Each couple has a young daughter and the girls leave together after the meal to go play. The adults don't realize they are missing until much later. They report a suspected abduction and soon are on the trail of the owner of an RV who was parked on their street.
Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) has solved every case to which he's been assigned, so the families are grateful when he takes on the challenge of finding their girls.
That same night he apprehends the RV owner, a mentally slow man named Alex (Paul Dano) who doesn't have any trace of the girls on his belongings. They hold him for 48 hours and release him to his aunt's custody.
Because Keller is convinced that Alex is guilty, he kidnaps him at gunpoint and takes him as a prisoner at an empty property he owns. He begins torturing him to get information from him, but gets no results.
Soon, he involves Franklin and Nancy, who don't feel right about what he's doing, but also choose not to stop him.
Meanwhile, at a candlelight vigil for the girls, a man's odd behavior catches the eye of Detective Loki and he gives chase. This is where, of course, the plot thickens.
From Hugh Jackman's desperation to the numbness of Maria Bello, each actor lives their role with frightful realism. The pain of the families is tangible, as is the frustration of the detective who is unable to decode the puzzle that may lead them all to the girls.
I was on the edge of my seat for the duration of this lengthy film, and with every twist and turn I held my breath, hoping for resolution.
Aside from a few key gruesome scenes, I never looked away.
I'm glad I didn't—a solid thriller is always a great way to get the adrenaline going.
~~~
Keller (Jackman) and Grace (Maria Bello), have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with their neighbors Franklin (Terrence Howard) and Nancy (Viola Davis).
Each couple has a young daughter and the girls leave together after the meal to go play. The adults don't realize they are missing until much later. They report a suspected abduction and soon are on the trail of the owner of an RV who was parked on their street.
Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) has solved every case to which he's been assigned, so the families are grateful when he takes on the challenge of finding their girls.
That same night he apprehends the RV owner, a mentally slow man named Alex (Paul Dano) who doesn't have any trace of the girls on his belongings. They hold him for 48 hours and release him to his aunt's custody.
Because Keller is convinced that Alex is guilty, he kidnaps him at gunpoint and takes him as a prisoner at an empty property he owns. He begins torturing him to get information from him, but gets no results.
Soon, he involves Franklin and Nancy, who don't feel right about what he's doing, but also choose not to stop him.
Meanwhile, at a candlelight vigil for the girls, a man's odd behavior catches the eye of Detective Loki and he gives chase. This is where, of course, the plot thickens.
From Hugh Jackman's desperation to the numbness of Maria Bello, each actor lives their role with frightful realism. The pain of the families is tangible, as is the frustration of the detective who is unable to decode the puzzle that may lead them all to the girls.
I was on the edge of my seat for the duration of this lengthy film, and with every twist and turn I held my breath, hoping for resolution.
Aside from a few key gruesome scenes, I never looked away.
I'm glad I didn't—a solid thriller is always a great way to get the adrenaline going.
~~~
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Love and Other Drugs
Today I saw Love and Other Drugs, starring Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Maggie (Hathaway) is a 26-year-old artist suffering from Parkinson's Disease. Jamie (Gyllenhaal) is a pharmaceutical salesman, peddling antidepressants who meets her one day as she's getting her breast examined. Seriously.
They banter back and forth about why he shouldn't have been in her exam room (he really shouldn't have) then consummate their attraction after their second encounter (this time, a coffee shop).
The sex is so good that both partners, who are anti-relationship, begin to crave more from one another. This scares Maggie, who doesn't want to tether anyone into being her caretaker for the rest of time, so she pushes Jamie away.
The two lead actors are phenomenal and share a very believable chemistry. Watching them become these two characters (forgetting they played a married couple in 2005's Brokeback Mountain) isn't remotely boring, and their spicy scenes keep us paying attention, if only for the skin.
What's wrong with the movie is everything else: the 'rich' brother that for some reason has to crash on Jamie's couch when his marriage falls apart; the waste of Hank Azaria (as a slimy doctor) and Oliver Platt (as a slimy salesman); the script discrepancies that throw us from a slapstick comedy to a depressing drama without warning.
I went into the theater thankful that this wouldn't be just another chick flick and came out disappointed that the result was almost worse.
At least Hathaway wasn't the only one who had to take off her clothes.
~~~
Maggie (Hathaway) is a 26-year-old artist suffering from Parkinson's Disease. Jamie (Gyllenhaal) is a pharmaceutical salesman, peddling antidepressants who meets her one day as she's getting her breast examined. Seriously.
They banter back and forth about why he shouldn't have been in her exam room (he really shouldn't have) then consummate their attraction after their second encounter (this time, a coffee shop).
The sex is so good that both partners, who are anti-relationship, begin to crave more from one another. This scares Maggie, who doesn't want to tether anyone into being her caretaker for the rest of time, so she pushes Jamie away.
The two lead actors are phenomenal and share a very believable chemistry. Watching them become these two characters (forgetting they played a married couple in 2005's Brokeback Mountain) isn't remotely boring, and their spicy scenes keep us paying attention, if only for the skin.
What's wrong with the movie is everything else: the 'rich' brother that for some reason has to crash on Jamie's couch when his marriage falls apart; the waste of Hank Azaria (as a slimy doctor) and Oliver Platt (as a slimy salesman); the script discrepancies that throw us from a slapstick comedy to a depressing drama without warning.
I went into the theater thankful that this wouldn't be just another chick flick and came out disappointed that the result was almost worse.
At least Hathaway wasn't the only one who had to take off her clothes.
~~~
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