Nocturnal Animals: Darkly Disturbing

By some strange coincidence, my friend Katie and I both ended up watching Nocturnal Animals all alone and late at night. Let me tell you right now, that is no way to watch this film if you are easily spooked. It is a stylish film noir-esque thriller that is deeply creepy and wonderful to experience when it's daylight and you're with someone who can reassure you afterwards that all will be well and you aren't going to be dismembered in your bed.

The movie stars Amy Adams as Susan, a seemingly well-off and successful art gallery owner in LA. However, it becomes quickly apparent that she is deeply unsatisfied with her life and her handsome husband, Hutton, (Armie Hammer), who is always off on philandering business trips. One day, she unexpectedly receives a manuscript from her ex-husband, Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal), who she hasn't heard from for years. Now he has finally finished writing the novel he always wanted to write, and he has titled it Nocturnal Animals with a dedication to Susan. Intrigued, Susan starts reading this story at night when she is plagued with insomnia. Which is as bad a decision as choosing to watch this movie late at night.

Edward's novel is a disturbingly violent tale of rape and murder, and features Aaron Taylor-Johnson as a horrifying villain and the always reliable Michael Shannon as a Texas sheriff who might be the only good guy (of sorts) in this whole story. Gyllenhaal stars as the novel's protagonist and Isla Fisher as his wife, who appears to be a thinly-veiled allusion to Susan. In addition to this story-within-a-story, however, we also get flashbacks of Susan and Edward's real-life romance, courtship, and marriage, giving us an insight into what kind of people they were. It's also an insight into what might have spurred Edward into writing this novel, since his character seems to be a direct reaction to the criticisms levied on him by Susan in their marriage. It is a weird, mind-bending psychological thriller, expertly crafted and creepily told, with elegant cinematography by Seamus McGarvey and crucial production design by Shane Valentino to help keep all the narratives clear and distinct.

Writer-director Tom Ford is a great filmmaker but given his fashion background, what always stands out to me in his films is the aesthetics. Amy Adams' makeup and wardrobe are a particularly key example of how important is to get these details right, because they make it so easy to trace Susan's evolution as a fresh-faced optimistic Texan artist into a hardened woman who is now coming to terms with her life choices. Every actor delivers a standout performance in this film and while I cannot say I enjoyed it, I can say it wormed its way into a primitive part of my brain like the best Hitchcockian thriller, and managed to thoroughly alarm and intrigue me. I wouldn't want to watch Nocturnal Animals again, but I certainly appreciated watching it once.