**A dense film, with few sympathetic characters, but quite reasonable.** This is one of those films where the most interesting thing is the plot within the plot: the script begins by introducing us to Susan Morrow, a very sophisticated and elegant art gallery owner who suffers from insomnia and who receives, by mail, a sketch of a fictional novel which will be edited by her ex-husband. When she starts to read it, the film shows us the story he wrote: a very conventional family that is ambushed on an isolated road and kidnapped by criminals, leading the main character, a peaceful and friendly man, to go through a real nightmare. And at the same time, we see Susan remember several moments in her relationship, where things didn't always go well. The film is not bad, but it requires some attention from the public to follow the three ongoing stories, and by far, the most interesting and most striking is the one that the protagonist reads in the powerful novel written by her ex-husband. Personally, I didn't feel any kind of sympathy for the protagonist, I found the character quite bland and uninteresting, and the narrative of her marriage and divorce shows many shadows of the character that can make it even more difficult to empathize with her. Amy Adams brought the main character to life and seems to me to have done a very dignified and intelligent job, even though this is one of those characters that we never seem to really get to know because she never makes herself known. Jake Gyllenhaal turns out to be much more interesting, not least because he gave life to two different characters: he was the ex-husband of Susan, Adams' character, and also the protagonist of the novel she reads, and who is a nice character, but who finds himself in a dire situation despite all reasonable attempts to avoid it. Now, if we consider that that romance is intrinsically linked to the failed marriage of the two characters, it would have been perfectly possible to give Adams the character that ended up in the hand of Isla Fisher, a good actress with very little to do here. Michael Shannon and Aaron Taylor-Johnson gave good performances in characters with a lot of impact. Technically, the film makes good use of cinematography to convey the emotions that the characters are feeling: from Susan's depressing loneliness to the threat, danger and tension that surrounds the characters in the novel. Dark colors, very well-designed environments and a clever use of light and shooting angles all contribute to accentuate these sensations. In addition, the film has good sets and costumes, and a discreet but effective soundtrack.

Only in a world where a Reality TV star becomes President could Tom Ford be one of the best directors of the year... I guess that'd be this world. _Final rating:★★★★ - An all round good movie with a little something extra._

A compelling thriller with an open-ended ending that feels far too easy for what it had going for it. Nocturnal Animals starts out very strong. It feels reminiscent of Lynch's Lost Highway or Mulholland Dr. The main character lives a luxurious life surrounded by some very striking pieces of art (art pieces which, throughout the story, make things even more thrilling and surreal). She reads her ex-boyfriend's novel which quite honestly makes us feel like we're in a bad dream. The way the novel starts out feels like Michael Haneke's Funny Games. Its opening scene with Aaron Taylor-Johnson so brilliantly builds in tension with his character's mind games. The story however turns into a bit of a tame crime mystery held up with a sort of fun performance from Michael Shannon. The potential to be a very cryptic thriller is there, but decides instead to put all the pieces together for us. As a Lynch fan, this movie made me crave something stranger. I really wanted to be left mystified but instead I got an ending that was kind of obvious.