‘Nocturnal Animals’ Blu-Ray Review: Tom Ford’s Two Tales Of Revenge

Most would assume that a good revenge story deals in the physical – a rejected lover haunts their ex with murder on their mind, a betrayal of friendship results in a fist fight. But Tom Ford‘s Nocturnal Animals, while dealing with revenge in the physical, takes a much deeper look at emotional revenge.

Feeling emotionally detached from her life of Los Angeles excess, Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) receives the manuscript of her ex-husband’s new novel. Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal), Susan’s ex, has sent a note along with the manuscript, thanking Susan for being the inspiration he needed to finally write something good.

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS BLU-RAY REVIEW

When Susan’s new husband, Hutton Morrow (Armie Hammer) leaves town on a business trip – one that involves both business and adulterous pleasure – Susan decides to sit down and read Edward’s new novel.

Dark and dramatic, the novel tells the story of Tony Hastings (Gyllenhaal) and his search for his own masculinity and revenge. After his wife (Isla Fisher), and daughter (Ellie Bamber) are murdered by three drifting criminals in West Texas, Tony employs the help of Detective Bobby Andes (Michael Shannon), a no non-sense cop dedicated to to bring justice upon the girl’s murderers.

Nocturnal Animals cuts from Edward’s book to Susan’s unraveling life and then to flashbacks of their romantic history together. As Susan reads on, she begins to become sympathetic to Tony/Edward and feels increasingly worse about how her relationship with Edward ended.

Visually, Nocturnal Animals is packed with deep reds and blues in Susan’s worlds and is void of anything but sandy brown and the Texas’ blue sky in Tony’s. The contrast between colors is stark and it is easy to understand that this film was made by a designer.

But sometimes, this fact becomes a bit too obvious. Certain shots feel a little too rich and a little too embellished. Ford, who received Golden Globe Nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay, seems, at times, to remind the audience that this is his film and no one else’s.  Whenever these moments arise, the grip of the story becomes unfastened and the audience becomes painfully aware that they are only watching a movie.

The performances from Gyllenhaal, Adams, Shannon and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who plays the ring-leader of the murderous trio, are all incredibly strong and elevate the film to another level – Shannon was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

The story in the novel, dramatically, is more intriguing than the scenes of Susan trying to reconcile with her current life and because of this, the film sometimes stalls. But these stalls often feel necessary because audiences will be in a need of a breath after the high tensions that Ford creates during Tony’s story of revenge.

While the tension may not be as high during Susan’s scenes, what they do offer is more thought-provoking look into revenge, and how revenge may manifest in our less dramatic lives. Ultimately, Tony’s story is a metaphor for the story of Susan and Edward, one that takes dramatic license but speaks, deep down, to truths found in their old and current relationship.

It is the emotional side of revenge that leaves the biggest impression on the audience and it comes in a rare package of subtlety from Ford – fortunately, it is at the point where subtlety is most important.

The Blu-ray edition of Nocturnal Animals includes a look into the building of the script, the cinematography, and Tom Ford’s direction.