Graham Beckel – Movies of the Soul

What is the movie about? :: Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) receives the manuscript of a novel written by her former husband Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal). It is named Nocturnal Animals after Edward’s special nickname for Susan. After an art gallery show, and while going through a flawed marriage to an unfaithful man and a busy businessman who doesn’t have much for, Hutton Morrow (Armie Hammer), she is disturbed and has almost no sleep during the nights. In a world which seems to have nothing much to her, she hopes for change, and it is brought to her by this book dedicated to her. She becomes completely immersed in the novel, and that also brings back the memories of her with Edward, a relationship which she once considered to be full of love.

The story of the novel :: The novel titled Nocturnal Animals tells the story of a man named Tony Hastings (Jake Gyllenhaal) who leads a family of three, including his wife and daughter. He is a calm and peaceful man who comes across three local criminals, Ray (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Lou (Karl Glusman), and Turk (Robert Aramayo ) during a long trip with his family through the countryside during late night. There is no real reason, but still a confrontation occurs between them and Tony, and his wife Laura (Isla Fisher) and their daughter India (Ellie Bamber) are kidnapped by the young men looking for trouble. Tony is unable to do anything to stop the three men, and somehow manages to get to a nearby farmhouse to call the police for help.

How the novel continues with its tale :: Detective Bobby Andes (Michael Shannon) is assigned to the case of missing women, and as a dedicated officer, begins the investigation rgiht away. There is no clue about the criminals in the beginning, but the corpses of Laura and India are found inside an abandoned building. Tony is angry and frustrated with his inability to protect his loved ones and wishes for vengeance. But soon, he will have his chance, as Bobby is also looking forward to bringing the criminals to justice with what might be his final case. Still, there might not be enough evidence to frame all three of them, and they wonder if the best chance here is to take the law into their hands – but are they ready for the same?

The defence of Nocturnal Animals :: There is beauty and intensity in the way in which this tale is presented to the audience – we get to go through both the tales which are not directly connected to each other, even though deep inside, the same feeling runs through. The incidents in the story within the story is also a reflection of the happenings of the other, as the protagonist losses his wife as well as the child who was aborted, due to his own inability to stop the process, even as he feels that he really could have. It is loss of love and the never ending suffering that is shown in both tales, one violent as it is shown clearly as a simple tale of loss and vengeance, and the other deeply moving inside even though shown less outside.

The claws of flaw :: Nocturnal Animals is surely not a movie for everyone, as it can easily make people stop watching it very early itself. You might feel the need in the opening sequence itself, and it also remains slow for some more time – but surviving these moments is necessary to feel what comes after them, and as we get further in, we understand that this is one of the most different tales of people of our time, and there is a clear reflection of how bad the relationships can go, as what one thinks as love is not always the same, and infatuation and the pretension of love is never really the same as what goes underneath. It is up-to the viewer to get into this movie, and also go deep into its two tales to make things work. It is that kind of a movie which will work the best as long as you keep thinking and connecting all things together. Nocturnal Animals is for the kind of people who connect well, and feel the connection deeply.

Performers of the soul :: Among the cast, it is Amy Adams’ performance that strikes the viewers first, as she is indeed the protagonist of the real world, while Jake Gyllenhaal strikes us hard from the imaginary world inside the novel, which also doesn’t feel less real. After Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and before the upcoming Justice League, Amy has one other movie, Arrival, and combined with Nocturnal Animals, make her the one performer to look out for from the last year. It is the character’s fears and insecurities that get best shown here, especially that of turning into her own mother. We know what Jake Gyllenhaal is capable of, and his character goes through suffering not just in the imaginary world, but also in the real one – we remember Enemy too, don’t we? Michael Shannon’s nomination for Best Supporting Actor at 89th Academy Awards and the same for Taylor-Johnson at BAFTA comes as no surprise either.

How it finishes :: Nocturnal Animals is the kind of movie that would have required a lot of skill to bring it through to the audience, and if we think more about the same, a certain amount of skill is required not just on one side, but also on two. It tells us that love is not love just because you had an infatuation during your youth – it is about responsibility, and about being there when the other person needs you the most. You don’t really fall in love just because you think that you do – then you do that with different people too often. It is a lesson that the new generation needs when they are in love just by seeing one side of the one that they love – it is never going to last long, and after knowing that the person who loved might not be the same as the one who is in the marriage, where does the love before marriage stand? So, is it better to start falling in love after marriage? Well, Nocturnal Animals brings different things to ponder about for different people it is that kind of a flick with raw emotions.

Release date: 18th November 2016
Running time: 116 minutes
Directed by: Tom Ford
Starring: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Isla Fisher, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Armie Hammer, Laura Linney, Andrea Riseborough, Michael Sheen, Ellie Bamber, Karl Glusman, Robert Aramayo, Graham Beckel, India Menuez, Zawe Ashton, Jena Malone, Kristin Bauer van Straten

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vampire Owl :: Do you know that the Vampire Crocodile was actually taking about this movie?

Vampire Bat :: Why would he talk about this movie? He was never a vampire too interested in movies.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, but he starts fan clubs in the vampire territory.

Vampire Bat :: We also have fan clubs these days?

Vampire Owl :: Well, actually as we are not that dumb as the humans to blindly follow a celebrity, he and the Vampire Hamster are the only members of the organization.

Vampire Bat :: So, what is it this time? A Karl Urban fan club?

Vampire Owl :: No, it is called the Isabel Lucas Friends and Fans Association for the New Vampire World and the Isles of Death.

Vampire Bat :: Well, this is new.

Vampire Owl :: He knows that variety will sell. He has only recently come to know about this movie and is hoping to cheer for her with a huge screen show arranged.

Vampire Bat :: In that case, we can be glad that we are watching it without him.

[Gets a cup of tea].

What is it about? :: Five friends, married men share a loft, which they use for extra-marital affairs. The men are Vincent Stevens (Karl Urban) who is the designer of the building, a psychatrist Dr. Chris Vanowen (James Marsden) who is a reluctant user of the loft, and three others, Luke Seacord (Wentworth Miller), Marty Landry (Eric Stonestreet) and Phillip Williams (Matthias Schoenaerts). When the body of a dead woman is found in that loft, the friends begin to doubt each other as none other than them got the keys to the place; they also wonder if one of their wives or mistresses is involved in the crime. The dead person is Sarah Deakins (Isabel Lucas) who knows them from a bar. Even though it was Vincent who last met the girl, he has no clue of how she ended up like that.

The defence of The Loft :: There is a certain amount of quality and style in how the story is told in this movie. It begins from the murder and the police arrests, and moves on through different timelines to give us clues and finally conclude to a point where everything comes together. There is a intellectual beauty in the narrative style, and you can actually connect these moments well enough while giving attention. There is something here to be suspicious at each of the five characters, their wives, some of the mistresses and even a few businessmen with whom they are involved. It is an entertainer, and there is a big chance that this movie might be remade into one or two Indian languages. So it will only help to have this one watched already instead of having a copy of the feeling that Anwar and Cocktail had original awesomeness when it released, but where just copies of Traitor and Butterfly on a Wheel.

Claws of flaw :: Unlike what some people might think, The Loft is not really an erotic movie; it is very much far away from it and is just the thriller or a mystery, and even with its suspense and the twists, it doesn’t have a huge surprise waiting. Most of the people might have wanted the twists to be even more twisted. The setting could have had more in store, but the finish is just of the quality of an ordinary thriller. The story struggles at some points and it is a missed chance at bringing the mystery to another level. People who are looking at this one as an erotic flick are going to be the more disappointed ones though. Some people can also have trouble with the narrative especially if he or she stops the movie in the middle to watch later. Some of the scenes might have been even made to confuse the viewer into believing that someone with no big relation to the incidents is the murderer.

Performers of the soul :: Karl Urban comes up with a very strong performance here in a movie has most of the characters getting equal importance, and is the pick of them all. It is actually depressing that this movie didn’t get much of box-office collection just like his other good movies – the critical appreciation has also been low. Well, when something like Dredd can’t be a box-office hit, you have to doubt the tastes of the move watchers. He is a very talented actor and needs a better recognition. James Marsden who has been playing Cyclops in the X-Men franchise comes next as he excels in the final moments of revelation. Meanwhile, Wentworth Miller has his moments too as the movie moves towards the finish. The rest of the actors who play the friends also contribute well.

More performers of the soul :: About the actresses who play the wives, they never really gather that much of attention are easily forgotten – still, the one to gather some attention is Kali Rocha. The two main ladies are really good here; Rachael Taylor and Isabel Lucas, both of them making the desired impact despite the weak characterization. The former has done a good number of horror/thriller stuff and looks very much suitable to her role here – I loved her in Shutter. The latter brings a dazzling effect here, and she has never looked prettier – her role is smaller here, but it is the decision-making one; she has always been there with smaller, but noticeable roles like being the pretender decepticon in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and the more significant and touching performance as the subsider vampire in Daybreakers.

How it finishes :: The Loft is an interesting thriller which maintains its collection of twists till the end, and it also works as a morality tale if we look at it from another angle. As you go to ending, even though there is nothing tragic, none of the cheaters in a relationship really manages to get a better life except for one exception and one not doing that bad, depending on how you see it. Being faithful should be considered a very important thing in life, not just with love and relationships, but also to oneself. There is no honour is hurting the people we love just for the sake of something temporary and wrong. In an ultra-modern world, all kinds of relationships go nowhere; remember Matthew Arnold’s Dover Beach:
“Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain”

Release date: 14th October 2014
Running time: 103 minutes
Directed by: Erik Van Looy
Starring: Karl Urban, Isabel Lucas, Rachael Taylor, James Marsden, Wentworth Miller, Eric Stonestreet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Rhona Mitra, Valerie Cruz, Elaine Cassidy, Kali Rocha, Margarita Levieva, Madison Burge, Kristin Lehman, Robert Wisdom, Ric Reitz, Graham Beckel, Kathy Deitch