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Nocturnal Animals

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Nocturnal Animals
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTom Ford
Screenplay byTom Ford
Starring
CinematographySeamus McGarvey
Edited byJoan Sobel
Music byAbel Korzeniowski
Production
company
Fade to Black Films
Distributed byFocus Features
Release dates
  • September 2, 2016 (2016-09-02) (Venice)
  • November 4, 2016 (2016-11-04) (United Kingdom)
  • November 18, 2016 (2016-11-18) (United States)
Running time
116 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$22.5 million[2]
Box office$1.1 million[3][4]

Nocturnal Animals is a 2016 American neo-noir psychological thriller film written, co-produced, and directed by Tom Ford, based on the 1993 novel Tony and Susan by Austin Wright. The film stars an ensemble cast featuring Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Armie Hammer, Laura Linney, Andrea Riseborough, and Michael Sheen. Principal photography began on October 5, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.

It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival,[5] where it won the Grand Jury Prize.[6] The film is scheduled to be released on November 18, 2016, by Focus Features.[7]

Plot

Wealthy but troubled art gallery owner Susan Morrow receives the manuscript for a novel penned by her estranged ex-husband Edward Sheffield along with an invitation for dinner during Edward's upcoming visit to Los Angeles. Miserable with her deteriorating marriage to her unfaithful husband, Hutton, Susan begins to read the novel, which is both dedicated to her and named Nocturnal Animals after Edward's nickname for her.

The story follows Tony Hastings, a peaceful man who runs afoul of three local troublemakers - Ray Marcus, Lou and Turk - during a road trip through Texas. Forced off the road, Tony is powerless to stop Ray and Turk from driving away with his wife Laura and their daughter, India, leaving him with Lou, who forces him to drive Ray's car to an abandoned stretch of land to be abandoned. Tony manages to evade the returning Ray and Turk, who arrive in search of him, and makes his way to a nearby farmhouse to ask for help.

Detective Bobby Andes is assigned to the case and ultimately learns Laura and India were raped and murdered, finding their bodies in an abandoned shack, and leaving Tony wracked with guilt. Shocked by the dark content and raw emotion of the novel, Susan reminisces about meeting Edward in college and their blossoming relationship, which Susan's domineering mother Anne Sutton objected to, claiming that Edward was not worthy of Susan's affections and that due to his romantic worldviews he lacked the drive to actually achieve his goals, which Susan ignored, ultimately marrying Edward.

After finding further evidence of Hutton's extramarital affair, Susan resumes reading the manuscript, in which Tony is contacted by Andes one year after his family's death and asked to identify Lou, who is charged as an accomplice in the murders of Laura and India. Turk has been fatally shot in a botched robbery, leaving Ray as the final culprit to be brought to justice. Tony and Andes arrest Ray, but are ultimately forced to release him as they only have circumstantial evidence of his involvement. On the verge of retirement and having been diagnosed with lung cancer, Andes wants to close the case and aids Tony in luring Ray and Lou to the shack where Laura and India were killed. Andes reluctantly shoots Lou when he attempts to escape, while Ray manages to run off.

Susan recalls her troubled marriage to Edward, which was strained by her frustration with his fledgling career and dismissive attitude towards his literary aspirations. This culminated with Susan cheating on him with Hutton and ultimately divorcing Edward to marry him. Edward attempted to repair their relationship, but ultimately cut ties with Susan upon learning that she was pregnant with his child and secretly had an abortion to ensure the divorce proceedings ran as expected. In the novel, Tony tracks Ray down alone and the two have a violent confrontation, in which Ray admits to raping and murdering Tony's wife and daughter. Tony fatally shoots him, but is blinded by a strike to the head in the process and stumbles outside, only to accidentally discharge his gun into his stomach, ultimately dying of his wounds.

Susan realizes that the novel is an allegory for the loss Edward endured during their separation and that he dedicated the novel to her as a form of revenge, having sent the manuscript to prove to her that he was capable of writing a successful novel. Susan reevaluates her current behavior and contacts Edward, arranging a meeting with him in hopes of mending their relationship. When she turns up at the meeting point, he fails to show, having moved on with his life, and leaving Susan to live with the consequences of her actions.

Cast

Production

On March 24, 2015, it was announced that Smoke House Pictures' partners George Clooney and Grant Heslov would be producing a thriller Nocturnal Animals, based on the Austin Wright's 1993 novel Tony and Susan.[15] Tom Ford was set to direct the film based on his own script.[15] On the next day, Jake Gyllenhaal was set to star for the lead roles Edward and Tony, while Amy Adams was in talks for the female lead role Susan, and sources confirmed that Joaquin Phoenix and Aaron Taylor-Johnson were also being eyed for different roles.[8] Focus Features acquired the US distribution rights to the film on May 17, 2015, while Universal Pictures would handle the international distribution.[16] Focus' deal was made with $20 million, making this a biggest deal of 2015 Cannes Film Festival and one of the biggest in the last few years.[16] On August 6, 2015, Taylor-Johnson was confirmed for the role of a mysterious person who poses a threat to Gyllenhaal's Tony character's family, along with Michael Shannon also added to the cast to play a detective investigating the violent incident.[9] On August 28, 2015, Armie Hammer also joined the cast of the film to play Walker Morrow, Adam's character's husband.[11] On September 9, 2015, Isla Fisher joined the film to play Laura Hastings, Tony's wife.[10] On September 18, 2015, Ellie Bamber was cast in the film to play Tony's daughter.[12] On September 30, 2015, Robert Aramayo was added to the cast.[13] On October 5, 2015, Karl Glusman signed on to star in the film.[14] On October 8, 2015, Peter Nyong'o was also cast in the film.[17]

Principal photography on the film began on October 5, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.[14][18] It wrapped up on December 5, 2015.[19]

Release

Nocturnal Animals had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2016.[20][21] The film also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2016[22] and at the BFI London Film Festival on October 14, 2016.[23]

The film is scheduled to be released on November 18, 2016.[7]

Reception

Critical response

Nocturnal Animals received positive reviews from critics following its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, with the performances of Adams, Gyllenhaal, Shannon, Taylor-Johnson and Linney being praised.[24] On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 80%, based on 75 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Well-acted and lovely to look at, Nocturnal Animals further underscores writer-director Tom Ford's distinctive visual and narrative skill."[25] On Metacritic the film has a normalized rating of 76 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[26]

Accolades

Awards
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Hollywood Film Awards November 6, 2016 Hollywood Breakthrough Director Award Tom Ford Won [27]
Venice Film Festival September 10, 2016 Grand Jury Prize Won [6]
Golden Lion Nominated

References

  1. ^ "Nocturnal Animals (15)". British Board of Film Classification. October 4, 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  2. ^ Galloway, Stephen (September 7, 2016). "Tom Ford's Inner Life: A Director's Turmoil, Depression Battles and Staggering Talent". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  3. ^ "Nocturnal Animals". Retrieved October 6, 2016.}
  4. ^ "Nocturnal Animals". The Numbers. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  5. ^ "Venice Film Festival 2016". Deadline. July 28, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Venice Film Festival: Golden Lion To 'The Woman Who Left'; Tom Ford's 'Nocturnal Animals', Emma Stone Take Major Prizes – Full List". Deadline. September 11, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Nocturnal Animals". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  8. ^ a b c Kit, Borys (March 25, 2015). "Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams Circling Tom Ford's 'Nocturnal Animals'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  9. ^ a b c Kroll, Justin (August 6, 2015). "Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Michael Shannon Join Jake Gyllenhaal's 'Nocturnal Animals' (EXCLUSIVE)". variety.com. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Fleming Jr, Mike (September 9, 2015). "Isla Fisher Joins Tom Ford's 'Nocturnal Animals'". deadline.com. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Hipes, Patrick (August 28, 2015). "Armie Hammer Joins Tom Ford's 'Nocturnal Animals'". deadline.com. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  12. ^ a b Fleming Jr, Mike (September 18, 2015). "Tom Ford Adds Ellie Bamber To 'Nocturnal Animals'". deadline.com. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  13. ^ a b A. Lincoln, Ross (September 30, 2015). "Robert Aramayo Nabs Roles In 'Game Of Thrones' & 'Nocturnal Animals'". deadline.com. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  14. ^ a b c A. Lincoln, Ross (October 5, 2015). "Karl Glusman Joins 'Nocturnal Animals'". deadline.com. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  15. ^ a b Kit, Borys (March 24, 2015). "Tom Ford Teams With George Clooney for Thriller 'Nocturnal Animals' (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  16. ^ a b Fleming Jr, Mike (May 17, 2015). "Focus Features Wins Tom Ford's 'Nocturnal Animals' In Whopping $20 Million Cannes Worldwide Rights Deal". deadline.com. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  17. ^ A. Lincoln, Ross (October 8, 2015). "Stan Lee & William Shatner To Unveil Collaboration At Comikaze 2015; 'Nocturnal Animals' Adds Peter Nyong'o". deadline.com. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  18. ^ "On the Set for 10/9/15: Marc Webb & Chris Evans Start 'Gifted', Garry Marshall & Julia Roberts Wrap 'Mother's Day'". ssninsider.com. October 9, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  19. ^ "On the Set 12/11/15: James Franco and Seth Rogen Start 'The Disaster Artist', Owen Wilson & Ed Helms Wrap 'Bastards'". ssninsider.com. December 11, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  20. ^ "Venice film festival 2016: Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals world premiere - in pictures". Theguardian.com. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  21. ^ "Nocturnal Animals". Venice Film Festival. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  22. ^ "Nocturnal Animals". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  23. ^ "Nocturnal Animals". BFI London Film Festival. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  24. ^ "Nocturnal Animals Review: Tom Ford returns with a superb, painstakingly crafted movie sure to pick up awards". Independent.co.uk. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  25. ^ "Nocturnal Animals". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  26. ^ "Nocturnal Animals". Metacritic. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  27. ^ "Tom Ford, Marc Platt & Kenneth Lonergan to be Honored". Hollywood Film Awards. October 19, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
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