Review of Nocturnal Animals (2016) by Nedryerson1 — 21 Jan 2017

Nocturnal Animals another amazing job of Amy Adams in 2016, a tricky police thriller, filled with suspense, which requires an active viewer who gathers pieces to solve the puzzle. The story is constructed with three fragments: the life of Susan as she reads a manuscript from her ex-husband; the story that tells the book; and the events that surrounded the divorce.

Each fragment has its own intrigue worthy of having an individual movie, but here they blend perfectly, jumping from one to other, enriching the next sequences. The protagonists are developed in a very realistic form, with respect but not gently at all, we reach the center of each one, you get to know what moves them, what hunts them, which are their profound desires.

As the plot reveals the conflict you realize that not everything is white and black, while one character emerges the other collapses. The secondary roles are not forgotten; everyone has their own struggles, that are independent of the main conflict, but leads them to participate.

All these thoughts and feelings are sublimated at the end, in a visceral scene marked by a lack of empathy that is breathtaking. Amy Adams is marvelous, one the best performance of her career, the way she moves, her expressions, skin tone and eyes from a person with the fatigue of living many lives.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Aaron Tyler-Johnson and Michael Shannon are stunning too. The photography and music accompany the purpose of the film.