![]() If that’s the way Ford thinks, then count me out. In Fordland, mothers and daughters serve no purpose except to be raped and slaughtered – and objectified even after their deaths. In Fordland, women who obtain abortions deserve to be hunted down by their ex-husbands. In striving to make his film as moody as possible, he mistakes suffering for sensuality, and his women pay the price of this error. ![]() To be fair to Ford, I don’t think he’s a misogynist. Misogyny, even when perpetrated accidentally and dressed in the finest clothing, is still misogyny. I don’t want to summarize the rest of the film, partially because it’s so meaningless and poorly done that summary serves no purpose, but mostly because I don’t want to give Ford a platform. He carelessly tosses in violence against women, rape and abortion as if they were merely adornments on one of his dresses. But Ford, not content to just make a bad film, decides to make an unconscionable one. Not great, not even good, but not reprehensible. Up until this point, “Nocturnal Animals” is tolerable. If you thought “I’m just really, really unhappy” was stellar writing, you’ll be blown away by this confrontation, which takes up 16 goddamn pages of a 110-page script and features taunts like “Hey, vagina boy! Vagina boy!” ![]() The novel’s protagonist (also played by Jake Gyllenhaal) is driving with his wife and daughter through a New Yorker’s idea of Texas when his car is stopped by a group of redneck stereotypes. Susan’s unhappiness gives way to EVEN MORE UNHAPPINESS when she receives a novel called “Nocturnal Animals” from her ex-husband (Jake Gyllenhaal). (Tom Ford, in his brilliance, wrote the screenplay as well. I’m just really, really unhappy,” she says. ![]() As if her entire performance weren’t enough to convince us of her unhappiness, every line she speaks is literally taken from the DSM’s chapter on depression: “I’m unhappy. His characters strut and fret their hour on the screen, but their sound and fury signifies less than nothing.Ĭase in point: Amy Adams plays Susan Morrow, a VERY UNHAPPY gallery owner who sulks her way around LA’s art scene with her eye candy of a second husband (Armie Hammer). “Nocturnal Animals” is not a film so much as a two-hour fashion show in which vapid elites strike hollow poses in luxurious settings. But in transitioning from fashion to film, he fails to understand that great films, unlike great clothing, have something underneath them. Make no mistake: “Nocturnal Animals,” the sophomore feature from fashion designer Tom Ford, is every bit as glamorous as Ford’s clothing line. “Nocturnal Animals” is to film what knockoff handbags are to the fashion industry – it looks glamorous, but on closer inspection, it’s just a cheap imitation of the real thing. This week, we will be reviewing the Academy Award nominated “Nocturnal Animals,” which our critic Rey Barcelo found not only overrated, but downright toxic. Which is why during the month of March, we here at The Daily’s film section are going to be looking back, with love, at some of our least favorite films from 2016. Last week might have been the Oscars, but let’s be honest – not all the films from 2016 were winners.
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