Nocturnal Animals - ★★★✰

Be prepared to do some head scratching with this one. There's no easy way to explain this film, but it basically involves two separate stories that are interlinked. Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) is a married
art gallery owner that is fed up with her marriage and despises her job. She needs to take pills to fall asleep at night despite all of her earthly comforts: the good job, respect from co-workers, and luxury house. In her past, however, she was married for a couple of years to a man called Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal). They didn't work out and she left the budding writer with a broken heart.

Then one day, mail arrives at Susan's house. It is a novel manuscript from Edward who wanted her to read it first. Wanting to escape from her life that she cannot tolerate, she delves deep into the novel and can't seem to put it down. The scary part is that the novel's characters are based on them both and there would be daughter. The novel gets graphic quickly, turning into a revenge story. Both stories are captivating, with enough conviction to become completely absorbed by them. In the novel, scenes of West Texas and the violent plot are contrasted with Susan going about her normal daily life looking chic, yet fragile.

This is a film that puts a twist on a traditional story line with an array of symbolism, hidden meanings and troubling moral questions. Without a doubt, it will leave you feeling something, and that something will be formed like a painting which is open to interpretation. Tom Ford is a
master at making the audience think for themselves, which I think, is great cinema when done well and Nocturnal Animals is sublime.

The acting is on point, with Jake Gyllenhaal adding another notch to his wall of great performances. Also, Michael Shannon plays a Texan lawman that loves to see proper justice. Michael gives the character a lot of flavours and even ends up stealing a few scenes. Onto what everyone is expecting to be top-notch, the visuals. The visuals are exactly what one can expect from a world-renown fashion designer; splendid from start to finish and more. Ford has definitely got a keen eye for picturesque film scenes. Underneath all of these elements is the score, which is quite forgettable, but in a good way that allows the action to happen, undisturbed by unnecessarily noises instruments that we see all too common in thrillers. In this instance, it works well.

With that winning combination, it's easy to see why it has already been nominated for some big awards. It could have gone disastrously wrong, instead, it has become a unique marvel, that does something never done before. No only does it do it right, hitting all the notes, but it does it in a way that places substance first and style after. Both of which this film has plenty of. I can see this becoming a hidden gem in the future.