Review of The Two Faces of January (2014) by Paul G — 30 May 2014
I found this film deeply satisfying. Its suspense builds up slowly, gracefully and powerfully. At first Rydal seems a highly suspicious character: he cheats tourists as a tour guide in Athens and MacFarland remarks to his wife that he would never trust him.
We soon see, however, that MacFarland has a shady past and is even capable of murder. Almost as soon as Rydal sees him carrying a dead body, he finds himself out of his depth. He is an accomplished linguist and globetrotter, yet he comes to look like an innocent abroad.
This is especially clear as he moves ever deeper into Crete and ultimately dashes desperately around an Istanbul bazaar. We can even fear for him. The film is extremely well shot and also has some psychological depth: for Rydal, MacFarland is virtually a surrogate father.
Despite the conflict, at times violent, between them Rydal comes to honour the older man (48) in a way he never honoured his own father.
This review of The Two Faces of January (2014) was written by Paul G on 30 May 2014.
The Two Faces of January has generally received mixed reviews.
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