NOCTURNAL ANIMALS – Rated R – 116 minutes
Starring Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Armie Hammer, Isla Fisher, and Michael Shannon
It’s been seven years since FASHION DESIGNER Extraordinaire Tom Ford has sat in the Directors Chair making A Single Man, which he also wrote the screenplay for. So it’s no surprise that he wanted to pen the screenplay this time around as well, before he could bring Austin Wrights novel Tony and Susan to life. Now, get ready, and settle in, as Ford is back in the chair, and bringing to life a storyline that you won’t soon forget…This is NOCTURNAL ANIMALS!
Caught up in pretty much loveless marriage, with no real resolution in sight, we meet Susan Morrow (Amy Adams), an art gallery owner discontented with her better than average existence.
When a manuscript arrives penned by her ex-husband, Novelist Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal), Susan finds herself engrossed in its pages, but dismayed at the fact that it is dedicated to her.
As the storyline of this novel unravels, Susan isn’t sure exactly how to take this book, as its characters are becoming way to real for her. And so is all the craziness and destruction that is unfolding within its pages…
I give NOCTURNAL ANIMALS a rating of MUST SEE ON THE BIG SCREEN ~ Adams is perfectly cast in this role, as is Gyllenhaal, as you follow them into their past, and the alter-persona that Susan envisions for Gyllenhaal’s character too. Ford found a way to not only bring Wright’s novel to life, but to bring out outstanding performances from his lead actors as well! And I especially enjoyed the way this film plays out one minute in real-time, and one minute from the novel the next, as Nocturnal Animals will definitely keep your attention throughout each and every frame. I’m expecting some Oscar buzz come awards season too, for Adams and Gyllenhaal, and Ford might even get a Best Director nod too!
Kathy Kaiser
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 