Nocturnal Animals 2016
by
Tom Ford
A wannabe author, Jake, and an upcoming artist, Amy, fall in love and brushing aside the objection of her parents, get married. The pressure to succeed causes tensions and lives turn unhappy. Amy does not have kind words to say about Jake's writing, who does not take honest criticism well. She finally dumps him for a hotshot, and a distraught Jake moves on in his life.
Nineteen years later, her marriage is in doldrums and she is professionally quite bored. She receives a package that contains the manuscript of her ex-husband's debut novel which is titled Nocturnal Animals. The novel is dedicated to her, and she takes up the invitation to read it. She finds herself engrossed in the deeply violent narrative and imagines the lead character of the novel as having shades of her ex-husband. The novel is about a man who is driven off road by thugs at night, who then carry off, rape and kill his wife and daughter. Thereafter, Jake and a Detective hunt down the killers and finally eliminate them. The Detective is dying of cancer and coughing blood by the end. Jake falls on his abdomen and shoots himself after killing the last of the killers.
Amy feels the need to connect with Jake after reading this, who merely asks 'when and where'. She waits for a long time, but her ex-husband never turns up. The film ends up on a sombre note. Amy is sad and reflective. Her husband is never revealed actively as a character in the film.
The film is powered by superb performances from Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams and Michael Shannon, who received a Best Supporting Actor nomination by the Academy for his portrayal of the dedicated Detective. Tight narrative and brutal sequences keep the audience hooked. Nocturnal Animals should have garnered wider acclaim than it did. It can be watched on #PrimeVideo.
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