Review of The Two Faces of January (2014) by Devilmath — 26 Sep 2015

The Two Faces of January is a psychological thriller adapted from a novel by American writer Patricia Highsmith. Previous adaptations of her work include Strangers On A Train (1951) by Alfred Hitchcock, and The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) by the late Academy Award winner Anthony Minghella. After a significant but fluctuating career as screenwriter (The Four Feathers, Drive, Snow White And The Huntsman), Hossein Amini takes on a challenging task for his directorial debut, proving that his skills can compete with Minghella’s and with the Master of Supense’s himself. Amini conveys the complex aspects of human behaviour typical of the finest thrillers in a surprisingly powerful way: he sharply outlines atmospheres, characters and situations, harmoniously blending them together in a remarkable, intriguing drama.

The story is set in Greece, in the early ‘60s. Walking by the Acropolys in Athens, we meet the three main characters: glamorous American couple Chester and Colette MacFarland (Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst), and Rydal (Oscar Isaac), a young Greek-speaking American working as tour guide. The characters’ duplicity is immediately evident. Rydal missed his father’s funeral, apparently on purpose; the event seems to trouble him, but not enough to stop him from scamming random tourists. On the other hand, Chester and Colette look like the usual wealthy couple on holiday. They wander by the ancient ruins and have fun together, harmless to all appearances. However it doesn’t take long to understand that Chester is the kind of crook who doesn’t make his living by skimming tourists’ money: he is mixed up in something dodgiers and way more lucrative. Lured by Chester’s sophisticated look and beautiful wife, Rydal bumps into the MacFarlands and sticks with them, hoping to have found another easy target; when Chester’s problems inevitably find him in Athens, hell breaks loose, and Rydal finds himself dragged in a situation he would never have foreseen. His choices must now be dictated by more than just his appetite for money. All of a sudden, the petty criminal becomes way more sympathetic than what used to look like a lovely couple on vacation.

Mortensen’s performance and characterisation of a very complex and troubled figure is the strongest asset of The Two Faces Of January. With Isaac also grabbing the spotlight, there’s little room left for Dunst, completing the triangle in a lesser role that would hardly please the supporters of Bechdel’s Law. As he builds the tension between the three protagonists, Amini doesn’t hide the source of his inspiration: Hitchcock is a presence that fills every character’s action, word and fear. The set up is splendidly rendered, and the story avoids overindulging plot twists, focusing especially on the protagonists’ choices, throughout the first two acts. The plot resolution is way less convincing: halfway into the film, it becomes clear that only a stroke of genius can solve the intrigue efficiently, and complete the puzzle of apprehension, suspense, deception and self-deception. Unfortunately the ending develops on a less original (not to say lousy) note, no matter how hard Amini tries to avoid it. It would be too easy to impute this oversemplification to inexperience or lack of personality, or blame it on a commercial twist in an otherwise rather thoughtful feature. There’s room for improvement, and hopefully we’ll see Amini back in action soon.