Nocturnal Animals 2016
There is a lot to be repulsed by in Nocturnal Animals and that starts in the first minute. The rest of the movie doesn’t have anything to do with that attention grabbing beginning (ostensibly part of an art show opening), but pretty soon there is a brutal rape and murder to deal with, which isn’t exactly shown on camera, but it is painful watching people being terrorized and having a pretty good idea that is what is coming. The movie has two parts, one featuring Amy Adams as an art curator, and the other with the murder is from a novel she is reading by her ex-husband. The movie is probably more about what was going on in the novel than the Amy Adams part. It is kind of a conventional police drama with a great performance by Michael Shannon as the murder investigator in West Texas. The acting all around is very good and the plot moves along well, but it is nothing earth shattering, and I resented being terrorized as a way of starting the story. The Amy Adams story is not as interesting, but adds some human drama as we get to know her character and see her in two failing relationships. Advertised as a noir thriller, I don’t think it is either one. While the story and performances are good, I did not care for the subject matter and the movie feels a little self-indulgent, as movies about writers often are. There is also what seems like a gratuitous ambiguous ending to reward critics and enrage audiences.
Written: 17 Dec 2016
Owned on: Digital