Film Review: Nocturnal Animals. Director: Tom Ford.
Writers like Dostoevsky relegated the concept of karma to the extent of saying that the sleep of the unjust is more sound as compared to that of the just. On the contrary,the formidable Chanakya in Chanakyaneeti said, "like a calf that can exactly identify its mother among herds of cows, a man's karma follows him and identifies him no matter where he goes, and no matter how much he tries to escape it or hide from it". There are many adages and proverbs that corroborate Chanakya and Dostoevsky, both, and both the schools of thought confirm one thing: Karma exists.
The concept of 'Karma' is best embodied in 'Nocturnal Animals', a 2016 film directed by Tom Ford based on the 1993 book 'Tony and Susan' by Austin Wright. Susan, an art consultant with great contacts, an affluent husband, a seemingly perfect marriage and an adorable daughter unexpectedly receives a manuscript of a book as a gift from her ex-husband, Edward Sheffeild who was a struggling writer back when they were married. The book is titled 'Nocturnal Animals'. As Susan begins to read the compelling book her ex-husband wrote, she connects the events in the novel to her life: her past life with Edward, and the life she is currently living.
'Nocturnal Animals' is not a typical revenge story where the audience will have the satisfaction of watching the perpetrator fall from dignity. On watching the film more closely, the audience would grasp the nuances of the film and understand that there is more to the film than it portrays, i.e. the things it does not explicitly portray. A unique aspect of the film is the triple perspective, i.e. Susan's current life of affluence compared with her earlier life of destitution with Edward, along with the events taking place in the riveting as well as violent novel.
The aura of the film is lugubrious, doleful and melancholy. Susan has everything she can ever want and need, but the events happening in her life make her feel almost always empty. As the events in the novel unfold themselves, Susan remembers her life with Edward and the very factors that had caused her to rebel against her mother to marry Edward turned into the very ones that repulsed her later, and she ended the marriage at the first signs of trouble. Susan, like most women thought that she could be a romantic and all that she needed was love, but later understood how piercing and truthful her mother's assessment of her character was.
'Nocturnal Animals' is an expose of the junk culture, the lack of artfulness in art and is also a slap on the face of critics who are incapable and/or pusillanimous of creating something of their own. The casually sarcastic tone of the film compared with the mastery in metaphors makes it a complete worth watch. Legendary directors like David Fincher and Christopher Nolan are known to tap into surrealism and play with time respectively, but Tom Ford plays with psychology. Susan's psyche at the time of her first marriage to Edward, compared to her psychology at the seemingly cheerful marriage that she currently has, compared to the oscillations in her psychology as she keeps reading 'Nocturnal Animals' and experiences unrest, confusion and lack of stability, which is a natural consequence of experiencing three different feelings in unison, is striking.
The film is remarkable because of the team involved in its making. The film is flowing art and every frame of the film is aesthetic and visually pleasing. Susan's home is extremely beautiful, immaculate and commodious. It is dainty, to say the least. The cherry on the cake is the striking and relevant background music. Abel Korzeniowski deserves all the accolades he got for composing the spine-chilling and beautiful background score. The soundtracks of the film are ingenious and Korzeniowski is a prodigy.
The other best part about the film is that even if such events as shown in the film do not take place in real-life, the audience is sure to give the film all their empathy. The film, at once satisfies the audience, but still leaves them wanting for more. Though the film is a revenge story, the central idea revolves around 'Karma'. The leads have done a marvellous job. Amy Adams, makes the audience love and hate her as she embodies Susan. Jake Gyllenhaal steals the show with this superiority in the art of expressions and whip-hand acting as Edward, Susan's ex-husband. Though Armie Hammer has a small role to play as Susan's current husband, his screen presence is handsome, dashing, powerful and stylish. The other leads and actors have done a fantastic job as well. The script of the film is par excellence. Barring a few disturbing violent visuals, the film is a decent family watch. Even so, the individual experience is not to be missed out on.
To direct a film that has three dimensions to it without dividing the film into three dimensions is a mammoth feat and in that Tom Ford is a genius. Though the film does not have any blatant and stark divisions, the audience themselves is able to compartmentalize and segregate. 'Nocturnal Animals' is not just a film. It is the product of genius. It is what happens when a group of prodigies assemble and decide to create something extraordinary.
Overall, 'Nocturnal Animals' is one of the modern cinematic masterpieces and the audience is sure to love everything about the film.
MY TAKE: 10/10.
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You exude brilliance in your writing.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of three dimensions in emotions was too good!
Since I have seen this film, I can say that you have accurately described Susan's experiences.
Keep writing.