Nocturnal Animals (2016)

Nocturnal Animals is a psychological thriller centred around Susan Morrow, played by Amy Adams.

Nocturnal Animals follows art director Susan Morrow as she reads a manuscript sent to her by her ex-husband Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal).

It says something about a movie when an entire audience is able to sit in silence for two hours. Nocturnal Animals is a film that manages to achieve this feat.

The story for this movie is written very well. The writing makes me feel as if I am reading a novel. At times I was thinking of the words that were accompanying each action that occurs on screen. Each one of the three stories manages to feel unique, yet as if it fit perfectly into the whole film. It is a credit to Tom Ford that he is able to achieve such a feat as a writer.

My only issue regarding the writing is that there is a lot of exposition. However, the exposition does aid in the feeling that the audience is reading a book and therefore suits the style of the movie.

Visually, the film is a very stylish affair. Tom Ford takes each story and gives it an individual presence. The common theme visually is shown through the large, almost empty, sets. This achieves two things, in my opinion, the first is to put the focus solely on the characters on screen. The second is to allow the audience's minds to create what is going on around the story, as in a novel.

The direction, also by Tom Ford, manages to show three completely unique views of the world, presenting each of them as different types of a nightmare. He deftly manages to visually weave the story for the audience to indulge upon.

The surprising part for me though is that he manages to dig into the depths of the story through his direction. He allows the audience to see into the mind of the characters without only resorting to exposition.

The cast in this movie is superb. Both leads show their emotions through the subtlety of their actions and the pitch perfect delivery of their lines. Personally, I think that this performance could get Amy Adams an Oscar nomination.

The supporting cast is also good. Michael Shannon and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are more than capable in their roles as Bobby Andes and Ray Marcus respectively. Unfortunately, the remainder of the talented cast is used so fleetingly. Armie Hammer, in particular, could have been utilised more in the movie. I wouldn't have minded if an extra ten minutes was added to the movie to make more space for his character.

Nocturnal Animals is a visually stylish movie that has a surprising amount of depth to it. The interweaving narratives show respect to the audience's ability to follow the narrative without having to slow down the steady pace of the film. The film's ability to keep an entire audience enthralled for two hours speaks both to the quality of the direction as well as the hunger for these types of films.

Number of times I looked at my watch: Zero

Recommendation: Watch this movie.

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