Review of Nocturnal Animals (2016) by Barry Y — 16 Dec 2016

A stylish though sometimes-pretentious, ultimately unsatisfying exercise in alleged profundity that attempts to use its supposed nuance and subtlety to cover its inherent underdevelopment. Despite strong performances by Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, much of its remaining power-packed cast is wasted in what is little more than a collection of throwaway one-scene walk-ons.

Its often-preposterous script frequently tries viewer patience (especially in the first hour), despite some half-hearted attempts at trying to redeem itself as the picture races toward an unfulfilling conclusion.

Director Tom Ford may have scored big in his debut offering, "A Single Man," but he falls far short of the mark in his sophomore (or is it sophomoric?) effort, one that comes across more like a filmed version of the first draft of a promising screenplay rather than a fully fleshed out, finished product.