Part thriller, part drama and part literature fever dream, 2016’s ‘Nocturnal Animals’ may not appeal to every viewer, but those it will, it will certainly leave an impression, as this extremely underrated thriller led by some sublime performances from Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal is incredibly dark and compelling from start-to-finish. Directed by former fashion designer turned director Tom Ford (A Single Man) and based on the novel; ‘Tony and Susan’ by Austin Wright, ‘Nocturnal Animals’ may not be flawless in its execution, but it is definitely worth a watch.

Plot Summary: An unhappy and lamenting art curator (Susan Morrow) begins to imagine herself within the pages of a novel manuscript sent to her by her former husband, whose negative associations of their relationship take on a fictionalised violent direction in a symbolic tale of revenge…

Split between two different storylines, one set in the real world and one set within the pages of the fictional crime novel. ‘Nocturnal Animals’ definitely has some changes in tone, as every scene with ‘Susan’ usually focuses on her broken marriage and current lifestyle, which feels very different when compared to the tense revenge story of the novel, and yet, neither of these stories ever feel dull, as they both are engaging for different reasons. Tom Ford also makes brilliant use of this structure, as for those more keen-eyed viewers, there are a variety of visual links between the two narratives, the most obvious of which being how ‘Susan’ imagines her ex-husband; ‘Edward,’ as the father character within the novel, meaning Jake Gyllenhaal takes on two separate roles.

The central cast of Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Ellie Bamber and Armie Hammer, are all brilliant throughout the film as everyone one of the film’s characters gets plenty of development, usually all playing a crucial role within the film regardless of whichever storyline they are in. Although Jake Gyllenhaal does a pretty great job taking on two separate roles, the plot of the novel primarily takes place within the Texas desert, meaning the father character, ‘Tony Hastings,’ possesses a Texas accent, and whilst not terrible, it is a little inconsistent. This is quickly redeemed by the stand out performance from Aaron Taylor-Johnson as ‘Ray Marcus,’ however, as this usually vapid actor gives an amazing performance as a redneck delinquent, who is just as intimidating as he is erratic.

Although the cinematography by Seamus McGarvey is nothing extraordinary, there are still plenty of attractive shots throughout the runtime as the film uses its cinematography fairly effectively to create a contrast between the two stories, using an array of wide shots when focusing on the story within the novel adding too many of its tense moments, whereas the majority of the scenes within the real world mostly use a large number of close-ups and mid-shots to add to the film’s drama.

Without a doubt, however, my personal favourite aspect of the film is the original score by Abel Korzeniowski. Utilising an ensemble of violins, the score for ‘Nocturnal Animals’ is very memorable and excellently builds tension throughout the runtime as the soundtrack always remains very beautiful despite also feeling quite haunting. The original score even manages to capture the feeling of loneliness and sadness from ‘Susan’s storyline, with the tracks; ‘A Solitary Women’ and ‘City Lights,’ fitting this idea perfectly, yet neither of these two tracks beat out my personal favourite; ‘Revenge,’ referred to by most as the film’s signature track.

Throughout either of the two plots, the film is also filled with plenty of themes and underlying messages, many of which relate to the idea of expression through art, which does help distract slightly from the main issue I have with ‘Nocturnal Animals,’ this being the editing, although it may be intentional. At points, the editing throughout the film is rather fast-paced, cutting between shots rapidly, sometimes even using jump-cuts during some of the more drawn-out shots. If this style of editing was present continuously throughout the film, then perhaps it wouldn’t have been as noticeable, but as it was only occasionally, I personally found it quite distracting.

In summary, while ‘Nocturnal Animals’ may not be a shining masterpiece, but I do believe this film is very overlooked when it comes to thrillers, as the outstanding performances from the cast mixed in with the array of very tense moments and wonderful original score make for a genuinely gripping and interesting experience. So, whilst some audience members may not completely understand the themes and messages behind the story, I do feel this film will leave an impact on those it does appeal to. Final Rating: 8/10.