Nocturnal Animals

Tom Ford proved he is much more than just a famous fashion designer back in 2016 with this incredibly dark psychological thriller. You watch Amy Adams play Susan Morrow, a wealthy but deeply unhappy art gallery owner who receives a violent manuscript written by her ex husband. We also get Jake Gyllenhaal pulling double duty as the heartbroken writer Edward and the terrified fictional protagonist Tony. I always tell my friends to watch this movie when they want a really intense mystery that blends reality with fiction. The plot drops you right into the dry Texas desert inside the novel while constantly cutting back to a cold modern art world. A closer look beneath the expensive clothes and brutal highway violence reveals a surprisingly deep story about regret. A structural analysis shows that every terrifying moment on the dark fictional highway mirrors the emotional pain Susan caused her former partner.

Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey creates a brilliant visual split between the two completely different worlds in the story. You immediately notice how the real world of Los Angeles looks incredibly cold and sterile with heavy blue tones. I do get a little annoyed when the camera focuses too much on the bizarre modern art pieces during the gallery opening. Those weird slow motion exhibits feel a bit too pretentious and distract from the actual human drama happening in the room. A quick jump over to the fictional Texas story thankfully restores a much better visual tension with its sweaty and warm yellow colors. The costume department dresses the gallery owner in incredibly sharp and restrictive dresses to completely isolate her from the messy reality of the outside world.

Pay attention to the set design and you will see how the physical spaces completely reflect the emotional emptiness of the characters. The pristine interior of the modern mansion feels very authentic because the giant empty rooms and cold glass walls match a woman living in a loveless marriage. A trip down to the dusty West Texas diner in the novel offers a totally different vibe entirely. The cheap wooden tables and dirty police stations look like a gritty nightmare where bad things happen to good people. We get an amazing performance by Michael Shannon as a ruthless local detective and Aaron Taylor Johnson as a terrifying gang leader in these dusty locations. My main complaint involves the perfectly clean red couch out in the desert during a key scene. The bright velvet furniture looks a bit too much like a glossy magazine cover instead of a real crime scene.

You really have to listen to the breathing of the characters to understand the unbearable tension of this thriller. My ears constantly catch the terrifying silence of the dark highway right before the two cars finally collide. The editing moves at a very deliberate pace to seamlessly blend Susan reading the book in her quiet bedroom with the loud violence happening in her imagination. We hear a beautifully tragic orchestral score composed by Abel Korzeniowski, and that choice makes the violent revenge story feel incredibly sad and romantic at the same time. The sudden loud thump of a bird hitting a giant glass window actually makes the quiet modern house feel terrifyingly unsafe.

Let us clear up some common mysteries about this stylish thriller.

- Is the movie based on a book? Yes, the screenplay is an adaptation of a novel called Tony and Susan written by the author Austin Wright way back in 1993.

- Did Tom Ford design all the clothes for the movie? He actually refused to use his own fashion brand for the costumes to avoid turning the film into a giant commercial for his clothing line.

- What does the title of the movie actually mean? The title refers to the terrible insomnia Susan suffers from every night and the old nickname her ex husband used to call her when they were still together.

The incredible acting and the beautiful color contrasts keep me coming back, but I cannot deny that the shocking opening credits scene feels completely unnecessary. Certain artistic choices at the very beginning feel so intentionally weird that you almost lose your connection to the serious story that follows.

Fans of dark psychological thrillers will definitely love finding the hidden visual details in these beautiful houses. If you think you have the eye to spot the red boots in our daily guess the game challenge or just want some fun movie trivia to read, test your skills at Flickle. You can also play our popular movie wordle to prove your ultimate cinema knowledge.