Nocturnal Animals

WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
Click here to show this review. "Nocturnal Animals" is a diabolical, twisted thriller and you can’t truly be prepared for what’s it’s really like until it’s too late.

Art gallery owner Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) receives a package from her estranged ex-husband Edward. It contains a manuscript dedicated to her, a soon-to-be-published novel dedicated to her titled “Nocturnal Animals”. It tells the tale of a man (Jake Gyllenhaal), his wife (Isla Fisher) and daughter (Ellie Bamber) who encounter a troublemaking gang on the highway and the repercussions that event will have for the husband/father.

From the very first frame, you can tell that this film is going to be a little unconventional. I had no idea what to make of the first images shown to us by Tom Ford, but hold on, it makes sense once you see the context. This is a layered picture. There are two stories to follow, both of which are diametrically opposed to each other. How do they fit together? What’s the connection? You can’t wait to see what the endings are going to be like. This picture is like an unassembled jigsaw puzzle, and all the pieces are turned upside down. One by one, the pieces are flipped over. You examine each one and you know they’re going to add up to something, but you don’t know what. It’s nail-biting suspense at its best.

I had a very unusual experience watching this film. It’s a story within a story, and you know that the novel Susan is reading is fictional. The stakes within it should be lessened because it’s just a story. And yet, there’s something about the tale of Tony (Gyllenhaal), Laura (Fisher) and India (Bamber) that’s so disturbing you can’t shake it. It’s a frightening one and the fact that it’s being dedicated to, so presumably inspired by Susan makes you uneasy. It’s like a cursed artifact that you know you should throw away, but you can’t. She (and you) just HAVE to know how it’s going to end. But wait. What if Susan gets too disturbed by it? What if the story triggers something in her and she DOESN’T finish it? What if she’s supposed to? What does it all mean? Even when the story takes pleasant turns (like when Tony is he meets Michael Shannon’s character) or you sense that it’s coming to a resolution, you can’t shake that feeling of unease. It keeps you on edge.

"Nocturnal Animals" culminates in a conclusion that’s very unconventional and I think it’s brilliant in that way, despite being just a tiny bit rushed/unclear. I know not everyone’s going to get it, so if you leave the theater confused, ask yourself this. What are the parallels between the two stories? More importantly, what are the differences in the end of the novel and the end of the real world story? What is the central theme of the novel and how does it apply to Susan’s life and the final scene? Why do you think her ex-husband sent her the manuscript before it was published and what reaction did he want out of her?

"Nocturnal Animals" gets better the more you think about it. The film demands to be re-watched and discussed with a group of people. Because of this, it’s easy to overlook the performances, the cinematography, the set design, the costumes and that sort of thing. They’re all pushing in the same direction, lined up so perfectly behind the story that you don’t see them at first. Little details here and there jumped to my attention. The pieces of art inside Susan’s gallery, how they enhance the mood. The house she’s sitting in. All of those glass walls, they just made me so uneasy. The way different costumes and hairdos are used to illustrate the passage of time and people being at different points in their lives, it makes the non-linear tale easier to digest. The performances in here are very good, particularly from Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams. He’s gripping. Most of her scenes are alone, so she has to convey all of the emotions in her character purely by the way she moves and looks around. The editing and cinematography are excellent. They swing you through these two stories in a manner that makes them that much more intense. There is some disturbing stuff here and it’s made that much more effective by the execution.

"Nocturnal Animals" is the kind of film that makes your skin itch. I just hope that people understand the ending. I can’t stress enough that it’s not a traditional one. Even I feel as though I might’ve missed some details and should watch it again… but I don’t think I can right away. I need to watch something simple and happy right now just so I don’t go mad."Nocturnal Animals" is impeccably crafted. It’s the kind of film that’ll move you and commands its audience to think and discuss it afterward. (Theatrical version on the big screen, December 10, 2016)