Nocturnal Animals – An elegantly crafted noir experience

Since this is the U.S. release date I will divulge no spoilers.  Seethe film yourself.  It is worth it.

Peter Travers,  Rolling Stone review of Nocturnal Animals says of Tom Ford  “Tom Ford is drunk on movies. Like the fashion icon he is, the director brings a keen eye for style, texture and design to the images he creates.”  This film has some of the most nuanced lighting, rarely seen in American movies.  And then cinematographer Seamus McGarvey adds compelling camerawork to this noir psychodrama. Between them these two filmmakers hone a finely ground lens to give the viewer a captivating, sensual thriller.  Told as a story within a story this film does not shy away from primal emotions particularly fear and rage.

There are many clues and visual representations of what is to come along the movie’s twists combining truth and fiction, imagination and suggestion.  The muti-tiered themes keep the viewer engaged from start to finish. The acting element is special.  On my ballot Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Shannon outshine Amy Adams.  Don’t get me wrong, she is good but not as good.  Aaron Taylor-Johnson, one of the supporting actors, tells the story about Ford  not wanting the actors to read the source novel.  Ford wanted to craft the character in his vision and not have the actor craft it.

Music was perfectly placed and supportive.  I did feel the back and forth between the acting out of the novel and the real life needed to have been accomplished in a little smoother fashion but overall the editing rose the the top level of the rest of the filmmakers.

I would be very interested to have each of you comment on your interpretations of both the film’s portrayed novel  and the film’s ending.

An interesting interview of Ford is HERE