Review of Nocturnal Animals (2016) by Viniciusbrito — 14 Jun 2018

This movie did one special thing, in a way that I have never seen before, not in the way that it is in this one. One of the main characters, Edward(Jake Gyllenhaal), likes to write and he wrote one novel to his ex-wife Susan(Amy Adams). The novel is a completely metaphor to what happend during his relationship with her, and this isn't never explicit during the movie, it never really tell us what it is and let us to interpret and find everything out by ourselves, wich is a thing to be glorified, there aren't to many movies these days that really let us investigate and discover the story that is being told in our way and in our time, making we imagine and use the creativity. It does start introducing Susan character, and showing that she works with some kind of art, and apparently very attached to money and some sense of power, current husband is Walker Morrow(Armie Hammer), wich is some big business and powefull guy that needs to travel from city to city and doesn't care or like much of Susan, actually it seems that he doesn't really give a damn to her, also cheats on her, wich is completely different to what Edward used to be, Edward was a very nice guy that cared a lot about people, about the family and always tried his best to make things right, always believing in people. Susan's mother is not of the best persons, wich says that sensitive are weak people and is wants some rich things, she wants lust at it's best and think that her daughter will be just like she, she wasn't wrong.

The acting is another great aspect here, Amy Adams could pass the idea of a hollow with her current husband, she passed the idea of unhapiness and lost, even repentance, her character pass a lot of time, thinking and reading. Jake Gyllenhaal did the best job in here, he was insanely perfect, the sadness, feeling of loss and despair, and even that revenge doesn't seem to pay off, he could pass emotions to us in a level that is not easy, the horror and how human and real he was, are one of the reasons that I couldn't even blink during some scenes, his acting skills were phenomenal. Michael Shannon is also great, he steals the show in some moments, every scene that he is in, interrogating someone or just explaining, he did a great job, was intense without even screaming. Aaron Johnson could make me get up of my seat of rage, his character was a truly psycho and he was perfect, got me really nervous in some moments. Isla Fisher is in the movie as the main character wife in the novel created by Edward, she looks a lot like Amy Adams, coincidence ? I think not. Laura Linney have a few minutes of screen, but she also did a great job.

The movie does have a message that money and lust isn't everything and you can't take this way in your life. Having everything will not let anyone happy. Friendship, love last longer than lust, it last forever. All of this, it does have a time for you to figure out, because depending in when you do, it will, possibly, be to late, and if it is to late, tehre is no redemption at all, you will just be waiting for that to comeback or arrive to you, but it will never come. Loneliness and distance is what will define things after that.

The cinematography from this movie is also great, it does help to tell the story and get some peculiar things in a fantastic way. In the moment that I realize that the novel written by Edward was a reflection from what happend to him and Susan, the next scene was Susan face being reflected at the window, that is just formidable. When Susan is reading the book the goes and comings when she is doing are much well done, the montage did a nice job. Crossphades and racós, it is a teaching of cinematography, everything helping the plot. Even the makeup tell a little of story.

This a heavy movie, with a lot of violence, that will shock you, the atmosphere that Tom Ford putted here was great. The movie have a lot of impact. The story is just great, the 3 timelines, the metaphor about who character is who and with you finding out stuff are all genius. The ending is insanely good, Susan waiting there with Edward having his revenge, just like the paint preview it. A niilist and a great movie, it is really that good.