I was way too hyped about Ford’s new movie that I looked up his inspiration and started reading it (Tony & Susan). When I was reading it, a lot of questions came through my mind. Most importantly how he was going to adapt it onto the the big screen. To my surprise the changes he made actually give it an edge or a twist. Making Susan (Amy Adams) a contemporary artist and a curator allows him to play with visual cues, considering the limited screen time, this particular decision helps building up the story and even elevated it.
Nocturnal Animals is extremely brutal and a bit sick in some way. Imagine someone writes a novel just to make you feel bad like really bad. Providing that it could only work if the other end still has feeling for the former of course. It is also about how we perceive ourselves and who we aspire to be. In the case of Susan, she is trying to run away from the shadow of her parents, she doesn’t agree on how they (stereotyped Texans) interpret the world and especially doesn’t want to “become” her mother. She doesn’t want to live in someone else’s expectation but at the same time she is afraid that her mother could be right which eventually leads to her fallout with Edward (Jake Gyllenhall).
The smart part about Nocturnal Animals is the script. The novel Susan is reading, is a guiding tool. The paper cut is the first warning about the true nature of the novel. The story within the story is compelling enough as a thriller but where does it stand between the two worlds. To most of the readers it is just a normal thriller but for Susan it is more than just that. As she says earlier in the film that she did something terrible to Edward thus the novel is the "revenge", how? I guess you have to watch it yourself and find out. Some would say the title Nocturnal Animals give away a little since Susan is basically Tony in the novel. The suspense and the anticipation serve for both Tony and Susan (the original book title), even if you don’t get the point where they are the same person you will still be affected at the vey last scene.
Ford opts to use Nocturnal Animals as the movie title for obvious reason, to tone down the complexity of the story or simply for better understanding. I personally enjoyed a lot watching the Nocturnal Animals, ever since Ford’s debut, he is one of my favourite directors. Nocturnal Animals just solidifies a place for Tom Ford in the movie industry.
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