I was invited to this film at the last minute and had no idea what it was about. I was surprised to find it was about relationships and loss, not action and adventure. Jean- Marc Vallée sets the scene with a haphazard, dated Technicolor palette, even in the hospital and contrasts it with the cold tones, shapes and the crispness of Davis' house. The coldness is a kind of veneer or ice that has settled on the main character and the complex stages of reaction to loss that Davis (Gyllenhaal) goes through are the heart of this film. It has a kind of edgy subtlety that slides into crazy in just the right way. I loved the "rock and roll" soundtrack as Vallée put it.
A strong cast and story has made an entertaining and thought provoking film.
A strong cast and story has made an entertaining and thought provoking film.