Tom Ford directs Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Shannon in this psychological thriller about dissatisfied art dealer who becomes enthralled in her long estranged ex-husband’s dark debut novel. 

Like The Accountant after an hour of near perfect set-up we get the rush of disappointments as we realise the punchline is not the strongest part of the joke. In Nocturnal Animals case, a flawed but visually exciting lurk around bad choices, imagined lives, revenge and the weakness of gender, we at least always have achingly beautiful people to watch as it all untangles nihilistically onto the floor. Two narratives bounce off each other; a Bret Easton Ellis homage starring Adams frames a Jim Thompson inspired thriller starring Gyllenhaal and Shannon. Both absolutely grip with a facist’s zeal to keep you guessing and fearing the worse from the start. 40 minutes in, I thought we had something with the truly dark, seductive threat of a Blue Velvet on our hands… but that tension eventually peters out. What remains is not bad but lacks the palpable power generated earlier on when we find ourselves out on a lost highway.  Gyllenhaal also feels a little understretched here after a brilliant run of immersive roles. Still the powerful flavours Tom Ford plays with do linger afterwards and I get the feeling Nocturnal Animals might be worth a revisit sooner rather than later. Never a bad sign.

7