Review of Demolition (2016) by Jools A — 06 Jun 2016

In many ways, whether made known to viewers or not, Jean-Marc Vallee's films have been made closely at heart, both inspired and an on-going reflection of his own experiences in the past. The Oscar-nominated Canadian director is known for weaving stories based on lost souls and their introspective journeys in seeking truths and happiness. We've seen this is his last two films Dallas Buyers Club (2013) and Wild (2014) which made quite a splash in the awards arena, including six Academy Award nominations (for DBC) where Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto bagged the Best Actor and Supporting Actor categories. "I'm interested in people who have to struggle for their happiness. This has also been my struggle. I've been through some tough years. I was unhappy for a long time," Vallee once shared in an interview. His fascination in translating how his films' characters go out on a limb for their redemption journeys, be it inspiring or unconventional, perhaps can prove both a strength and risk to his career. And this is exactly the case seen in his latest feature, Demolition, collaborating with Jake Gyllenhaal who stars as widower Davis Mitchell and his unorthodox recovery journey after the sudden demise of his wife, Julia (Heather Lind), where he suddenly realizes that he never loved his wife and all his career success and material wealth mean nothing to him. The film's trajectory didn't rest quite well with many critics. Accessing buried emotions is hard and painful, and Vallee is attempting to show that there isn't just one way to grieve. That was also one of the main factor which intrigued Gyllenhaal about working with Vallee on this comedy-drama which opened at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, quoting "Trauma can make feelings harder to access, and that's what Jean-Marc and I loved about the journey." Vallee went on to share, "I did so many things (in life) because they were easy, and that's what Davis says at one point. They ask him why he married his wife in the first place, and he says, 'Because it was easy.' The film is a celebration of 'fuck easy.'".

With that, Vallee goes on to showcase Davis' manifestation and soul-searching quest in the most unimaginable way after his wife's death, by demolishing. It's his way of protesting against and deconstructing his old way of life - where it's all about material, to a point he feels he has been completely desensitized, and he's decided to pull the brakes (which by the way is literally acted out in one of the scenes where Davis suddenly pulls the emergency brake during his train ride). His impulsive road to self-exposition raveled from dismantling his leaking fridge to bringing his own house down, literally. Along this journey of self-realization, Davis clashes head-on with his bereaved father-in-law Phil (Chris Cooper) to whom he owes his successful career to, and forms an unusual and mutually dependent relationship with an equally lonely single mother Karen (Naomi Watts) and her troubled teenager son, Chris (Judah Lewis).

The morphing of each character and relationship represents revelation at many levels in this seemingly oddball of a film that could be dismissed as a confusingly under-achieved drama coming off on a fussy narrative approach. It is, in fact, an ambitious film. Granted, there were some moments that didn't quite do it for me as well, take for instance the scene where Davis, along with his other antics that constantly remind us of his arrested state, comes off with a feeble attempt to give a "fatherly" advice to Chris who is facing moral and emotional complications, something beyond Davis' own reach as well. It was like a "moment" that didn't quite do it as a "moment". I however could fathom out the crucial message in this film, no doubt metaphor used here could be argued as somewhat unnecessarily "in your face", but at least it's relatable compared to Vallee's previous film Wild, which I totally failed to connect at any level that could help make me understand how Reese Witherspoon's character experienced her colossal transformation. Gyllenhaal embodies the emotionally elusive and aloof presence with such finesse. Vallee basically wanted to work with the thirty-five year-old actor for his ability to assemble all of "sadness, intelligence, goodness, beauty" in a way which makes audience empathize with him, something that is needed for the character of Davis.