Demolição

I went to see this movie without really knowing its pitch or genre. Increasingly, I feel this is the best way to enjoy a feature film, as trailers reveal more and more of the story, going as far as basically spoiling major plot points and leaving nothing to the imagination. A movie trailer should reveal as little as possible but still tease your interest. Good trailers are works of art in their own right : they have their own story and may even use footage that won't appear in the finished movie.

Anyway, all I knew about "Demolition" was that it tells the story of a guy who has to cope with the loss of his wife and, because of that title, I supposed that he was going to loose his mind and that his life was slowly going to spiral out of control. Kind of like 1993's "Falling Down" with Michael Douglas.

While it is true that there is a fair bit of demolition (literally) and quirkiness involved, ultimately this movie is about a man deconstructing his life, demolishing his prejudices in order to find his true self. Once again, Gyllenhaal truly inhabits his character and delivers a remarkable performance, almost as good as his Oscar-worthy role in "Nightcrawler" (which was inexplicably snubbed by the Academy). Gyllenhaal is slowly becoming one of the most talented actors in Hollywood these days! Although the rest of the cast is quite good -- especially the young Judah Lewis -- I'm not sure this film would have worked without him.

All in all, a strange yet interesting film. 7 out of 10.

I feel like it had so much potential in the story and characters. As it is, it's just a very jumbled mess, with some really questionable editing. I do find Jake Gyllenhaal's character really intriguing though, and I thought he did some really strong work. I just wish it had a better grasp on the characters. I can't say I didn't find it very watchable though, and I would say it's better than many of the reviews suggest. I hope Jake can get some end-of-the-year traction for this, but I really doubt it. He's endlessly fascinating and very mesmerizing, and definitely carries the film more than the screenplay does. Not sure, perhaps this is a film only a select few will enjoy.

I'm the kind of guy who buries everything deep down. If someone close to me died, you wouldn't know it unless I told you. If I got fired or failed a class, my general demeanor wouldn't change enough to be noticeable. I internalize everything, burying it deep down inside and doing my best to ignore until eventually, it just goes away or the world solves the problem for me. It's a quietly destructive system of dealing with hardships, but from my experience I think I would prefer it to the alternate, more vocal and public approach. People often deem this method unhealthy, something I vehemently disagree with. I'm a put together individual, relatively mature and pretty steadfast in my fundamental beliefs and morality, especially considering I'm 19. Demolition is one of the first films I've seen that seemed to reflect my methods for dealing with stress (on some level anyways) that didn't ultimately indict them. I loved it.

As a film, Demolition is a quiet powerhouse of emotion. Jake Gyllenhaal continues to justify his standing as one of the finest actors working right now, giving a quiet and darkly comedic performance that is absolutely fundamental to the success of the film. Naomi Watts, an incredible actress in her own right, seems a bit off kilter and awkward, but so is the character she is playing so I have no issues with her work here either. Jean-Marc Vallee's direction here is great as well, weaving a sort of confused story together through effective editing and a fundamental loyalty to the subdued mentality of it's protagonist. A quick look at RottenTomatoes and I see that many are calling this a "slog", or a film that doesn't necessarily reflect the tragedy of it's narrative. But Demolition takes place within Gyllenhaal's head, attempting to cinematically represent the process of internalizing grief and strife, which I feel inherently lends itself to a subdued atmosphere.

But the moments that need to land do, mostly consisting of another character desperately trying to salvage any sort of emotional response from Gyllenhaal. I found the film to be profoundly relatable, perhaps the most I've ever seen in it's interpretation of grief and loss. Now let me make a few things clear. I'm 19, so I've never lost a wife, a child or a parent. I've never torn down my house or taken apart my fridge, and I've never really dealt with any stress outside of relationships (romantic and platonic), grandparents passing or dogs dying, school related stress or financial concerns. But stress is relative, and I saw myself in Gyllenhaal's journey. There was no scene with him crying himself to sleep, or breaking down at the deceased's gravestone. No constant screaming, anguish or turmoil. Life went on, and only those around him aroused any emotion following his wife's death.

It's a fundamentally human film, masquerading as an absurdist comedy while dealing with some of life's most confounding scenarios. It's a film that tracks Gyllenhaal's breakdown, bravely painted with humor and melancholy alone. And amidst that insincerity the film finds some beauty in the breakdown, as Gyllenhaal eventually finds his answers within the rubble of his old life. I can sympathize with Demolition's detractors, but personally I found something really beautiful that I hope to cling to and appreciate further as I mature. I found a film that doesn't malign my mentality towards adversity, but rather explores it and tries to understand it. It's a film with sympathy for it's conflicted protagonist, and subsequently I found sympathy for myself in there as well.

A personal favorite.

It is heavy, it is depressing in bits and clever the other times and it flows. There isn't a dull moment it doesn't pace up or pace doesn't. It only has dialogues where necessary.

What you do see is a man dealing with the death of his wife and understanding his relationship and life. Not the way most of us do, but by destroying everything.

I love jake Gyllenhaal more with every new film of his, no one could have played the better than him.

We must destroy in order to rebuild: the message of the picture is clear, I would say very physically clear, since there's much physical destruction, and I found it a very empathetically convincing message, since who has never felt like destroying a place, just to get rid of the past, of something we hate or no longer stand?

The story develops with a steady and quick pace, but is also intertwined by dreamy moments, which soften the overall realistic attitude of the movie. The incisive soundtrack is also wisely chosen to give more value to some emotionally intense moments or to enliven the atmosphere. The cast does a great job, Jake Gyllenhall truly inhabits his difficult and at times incomprehensible character, and is worthily supported by a never disappointing Naomi Watts, and the little boy offers a good performance, too.

On the whole an enjoyable and also thought provoking picture, which leaves much to think about what could lie beneath the ruins if we had the courage to deconstruct the more or less frail scaffold of our existence.