Nocturnal Animals

Rating: 4/5

A story that is more akin to a painting than a film at times, Nocturnal Animals is nothing if not stylistically beautiful.

Susan (Amy Adams) is a wealthy art curator who lives a fairly chilled existence. She and her husband Hutton (Armie Hammer) have a distant relationship and she doesn't appear to have any close friends.

Much to her bewilderment, Susan is sent an unpublished manuscript that is authored by her much estranged ex-husband Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal). Getting wrapped up into his book titled "Nocturnal Animals", Susan begins to unravel with every page she reads. Soon she begins to wonder if the highly violent novel that Edward has dedicated to her isn't somewhat inspired by the events that lead to their separation.

Nocturnal Animals is one of those movies where it has me questioning whether it intended for me to be confused or if I was just not artistic enough to see through the meaning of its symbolism. I was following it fully for about 99% of its duration, but there is that 1% where questions about what happened took over my enjoyment of the brilliant visuals that were placed before me on the screen. This movie certainly took a highly artistic approach to its storytelling, and with that type of film usually comes some heavy imagery and metaphor. Nocturnal Animals is ripe with such tactics, and for the most part, it works very well to tell its twisted tale.

What Nocturnal Animals can almost boast about more than the incredibly skilled performances by its cast, are the stunning looks each scene presented throughout the movie. With each of the three stories told, Susan's present, her past, and the world inside the novel, they had their own individual look; some beautiful and some unsettling. The most striking would be any of the scenes where it followed Susan as she was processing the words she was reading from Edward's book. Every color around her was incredibly vivid and deep, making every moment of screen time, no matter how short, filled with immensely bold visuals.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy adams are two actors who don’t seem to get enough recognition for their work. Yes, Adams has been nominated for an Oscar multiple times, and they have been very well deserved, but Gyllenhaal hasn’t been nominated for any and I find that more than a tad absurd (see Nightcrawler if you disagree). That being said, both leads show their collective talents in this film, specifically Gyllenhaal as he is technically playing two different characters. It’s hard to fully discern the emotions and motives of Adams’ character, but she too plays two different roles in a way. She is able to separate the two, but leave just enough recollection between them to allow the audience to attempt and connect the dots between her character's past and present day persona, as well as seeing her influence on the novel within the film. Even if the movie itself may appear slightly overdone at times, the performances keep it grounded when necessary.

I don't know if I would say that I enjoyed Nocturnal Animals, because the plot itself is intended to unsettle and upset its' viewer. However, it is impossible for anyone to watch this film and not be taken aback by director Tom Ford's breathtaking visual styling.