Amy Adams stars as Susan Marrow, a wealthy, immaculately dressed but bored and unsatisfied gallery owner in Tom Ford’s second movie Nocturnal Animals. Opening the movie to a set of obese naked women shown as live art at the opening of Susan’s gallery, we are instantly introduced to the inner workings of Susan’s psyche. A yearning to show the inner truth of the world she lives in, a world far away from perfect, and a desire to break from the seemingly outwardly idyllic life she leads.
The next morning we see Susan in her LA characterless glass mansion where Susan resides with her cheating husband, Hutton, played by Armie Hammer and a team of staff at their beck and call. As one of Susan’s lackies comes in to assist Susan and find out about their rotation of staff for the weekend, he gives a package to Susan that transpires to be a manuscript dedicated to Susan from her estranged ex husband, Edward, played by Gyllenhall, a previously unsuccessful writer who Susan left in “a brutal way,” after she, “did something horrible” to him.
The next morning we see Susan in her LA characterless glass mansion where Susan resides with her cheating husband, Hutton, played by Armie Hammer and a team of staff at their beck and call. As one of Susan’s lackies comes in to assist Susan and find out about their rotation of staff for the weekend, he gives a package to Susan that transpires to be a manuscript dedicated to Susan from her estranged ex husband, Edward, played by Gyllenhall, a previously unsuccessful writer who Susan left in “a brutal way,” after she, “did something horrible” to him.
As Susan’s husband flies off to New York, a lonely Susan begins reading Edward’s manuscript, a story that becomes the second layering of the film. The book centers around Tony, also played by Gyllenhal, and his wife Laura, played by Isla Fisher and their teenage red headed daughter played by Ellie Bamber.
The family takes a road trip to Marfa, Texas. Intent on driving throughout the night, the journey soon becomes a nightmare as the family is taunted by a car with four rednecks. After being taunted for a prolonged period, they are eventually pushed off the road but not before blowing a tire. Tony is helpless in the situation and it soon becomes apparent that Tony’s character is a direct projection of the way Susan saw Edward at the end of their marriage.
The scene that seems to last a lifetime is one of frustration and as nerve wracking and spine chilling as any horror movie you might have seen this Halloween. No guns are used, but the frustration and truth and brutality of the scene is realistically played out as Ford shows he is as apt at creating beautiful artistic scenes as he is at horror and True Detective style grit.
Artistically and seamlessly we see the third tier of the movie as Ford effortlessly weaves between the worlds, flashing between the life that Susan and Edward had once had together, that eventually ended in tragedy including a flashback to a conversation with Susan’s mother played by the incredible Laura Linney, who is adamant that Susan should marry her ‘equal’ and will come to hate everything she currently loves in Edward. His sensitivity, Susan's mother says is mistaken for weakness. The almost inevitable and tragic end of their relationship is played out as we piece together the destruction and loss that Edward has come to feel. It becomes clear the book is a big two fingers up from Edward to the woman who crushed him.
The performance from both Gyllenhal and Adams is haunting and engaging. Ford directs Adams in a way that has you captivated as he repeatedly focuses in on the emptiness and sadness behind Adams eyes, as Gyllenhal gives you goosebumps as he screams over the pain of the loss of his wife, and daughter, a reflection of Edwards own pain over the lost life he had once had and the inadequacy Susan made him feel.
The movie is an examination of what is important in life, what we think will make us happy, and what is expected to make us feel alive and satisfied. With deeper examination, Ford could even be making a comment on the empty world that we are living in, money over happiness, the good on paper love versus the passion and real love that comes a long maybe once in a lifetime if we’re lucky, and a desire for the material over true love.
The movie is certainly one that gets us thinking, and stayed with me long after I left the theatre. And although an enjoyable and thought provoking message, the movie did at times seem to feel stilted and didn’t engage me in to Susan’s world in the way Ford had perhaps wanted us to be, or maybe we were meant to be examining from the outskirts, not overwhelmed with emotion but instead left pondering the questions posed?
What did leave me somewhat confused, was Ford’s own examination on the world we live in and just how he felt about such a materialistic existence, coming from a position as a commercial designer, the irony wasn’t lost on me, or I’m sure other audience members. However any movie that has me thinking and still left with questions unanswered that I keep deliberating over is perhaps the best kind of movie of all.
the costumes
With Ford at the helm, the movie is without doubt an artistic and visual striking piece, the costumes perfection, with even the working class Edward adorning a perfectly tailored suit that looks like he stepped straight off the runway. Emmy Award-winning costume designer, Arianne Phillips the costume designer behind Ford's first movie, Single Man, teamed up again. For the flashback scenes pieces were sourced by Phillips, whilst Susan’s present day costumes creating an air of armour around her character, buttoned up in order to keep her protected in the world she lives in, were both created and designed by Phillips including structured blouses, bell sleeves and rigid jackets, and luxe fur coats. Surprisingly none of Tom Ford’s designs were used in the movie but with a true collaboration between Phillips and Ford, the men were equally impeccable in fitted suits and crisp white shirts.
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Nocturnal Animal's is out now.
Picture Credit: Merrick Morton/ Focus Features.