Nocturnal Animals

Susan Morrow is a successful gallery owner. She is married to businessman Hutton Morrow, who is constantly travelling. She receives a manuscript of a novel, Nocturnal Animals, written by her first husband, Edward Sheffield. The gritty content of the novel strikes a chord with Susan and she starts to remember the times she and Edward had together. While this draws her closer to him, there are unresolved issues between the two.

Intriguing movie that operates on two levels. There's the relationship drama involving Susan and Edward and the crime drama in the novel. The novel becomes the story-within-a-story, with, cleverly, Jake Gyllenhaal as the link between the two. Having Amy Adams play Susan and Isla Fisher the lead female character in the dramatisation of the novel is also a masterstroke, due to them looking so alike. (I only realised that it was Isla Fisher once I saw the credits. I had to go back to her scenes to confirm it was her, I was so convinced the character was played by Amy Adams).

Unfortunately, the two levels are not created equal. I found myself far more interested in the novel's story than the main story. The novel was unflinchingly gritty and included a good revenge plot and theme. The main story was interesting only for the Susan-Edward backstory, and didn't really progress much, feeling more like wrapping around the novel story, without contributing much itself.

There was still heaps of potential for both stories and the movie as a whole though, but the conclusion is a bit of a let-down. The novel ends in strange, contrived-feeling, fashion. The main story and movie ends quite flat. I'm a veteran of many anticlimactic endings, so very little tends to surprise me, but I was genuinely surprised when the closing credits started to roll. I thought "That can't possibly be it". But it was.

A more profound tying together of the two stories and a punchy ending (to both) and Nocturnal Animals would have been superb.

This said, there is still a lot to be admired about the movie. The novel story was done well and was helped by great performances from Michael Shannon and Jake Gyllenhaal. Shannon received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his effort. In addition, the Susan-Edward backstory was interesting.

While lamenting on her life, well-to-do art gallery owner Susan Morrow is startled to receive the manuscript of a novel written by her ex-husband Edward Sheffield, an aspiring writer with whom she's been estranged for several years. Upon reading his story she's quickly captivated by the intensity and raw emotion of the writing, and soon begins to ponder over her past actions. Gripping, murky, and suspenseful psychological thriller pulls you in and never lets go, with many haunting scenes that explore various underlying themes like revenge, regret, and betrayal, made all the more believable by the searing performances of a perfectly chosen cast--Shannon and Taylor-Johnson standing out in particular. Lots of startling moments, along with skillful direction and editing make this a potent piece of work. ***

Tom Ford's first film since 'A Single Man' is another winner, an ambitious high-wire noir thriller with Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal in an explosive tale of love, violence, and revenge.

Nocturnal Animals (2016)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) is a famous artist who suffers from insomnia but soon her past is about to haunt her. One day she receives a novel from her ex-husband and as she begins to read it she sees it at his attempt at revenge for what she did to him.

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS comes from writer-director Tom Ford and it's certainly going to be a film that people are going to love or hate. There's quite a bit going on in this thriller as there are several story lines going on at the same time and it's never quite clear what exactly is going on. Throughout the movie we see Adams' character reading this novel and as she reads it we see a second story dealing with a man (Jake Gyllenhaal), his wife and their young daughter who are driven off the road by three men. Soon the man is separated and must try to find out what happened to them with the help of a detective (Michael Shannon).

Is this backstory telling what happened between the artist and her ex-husband? Or is there more to it? As all of this is going on we also catch the story of how the two met and what caused them to be married. All of this stuff is held together so perfectly that you almost feel that if one single item was out of place or didn't fit in the end then the entire story would fall apart. The screenplay is an extremely smart one that perfectly goes back and forth between the stories and thankfully the viewer never gets lost. Even better is the fact that the story dealing with the husband and his family is extremely intense and really packs a punch.

The film also has a terrific cast and this certainly helps everything. Adams has several different emotions to play and she once again delivers a very good performance. Gyllenhaal turns in one of the best performances of his career as the rather weak husband who never seems to do the right thing. I really enjoyed the weakness that the actor played as well as the rage as the film went along. Then there's Michael Shannon who once again delivers a masterful performance as the detective with nothing to lose. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Laura Linney and Michael Sheen are also good in their bit parts.

As I said, I'm sure many people are going to watch this and hate everything that happens and especially the ending. I really think this is a wonderful intelligent little gem that certainly makes you think and leaves you wondering long after it is over.

You have to watch this movie without thinking it's going to follow a stereo typical Hollywood pattern. It that really has a darkened effect on the audience and Ford has done an excellent job at attacking the mind