Demolition

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper, Judah Lewis, C.J. Wilson
Directed by: Jean-Marc Vallee
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A man (Jake Gyllenhaal) begins a downward spiral after losing his wife in a car crash.

Review:

Tim: One of the reasons I like Jake Gyllenhaal so much is that his continues to do these smaller films where he can hone his craft, even though he knows that very few people are going to see them. Demolition made less than $2 million at the domestic box office. He's not selecting projects just because they are high profile- he continues to find these small films where he can do good work. I love that about him and I'll continue to see these movies out. This is a solid film, one that examines the aftermath of tragic car accident, where our protagonist loses his wife (whom he didn't love all that much). It's a fairly fascinating character study.

Taken as a whole, this is an interesting look at how one man deals with a tragic event and all the accompanying emotions- fear, regret, relief, guilt, happiness, confusion. The journey the character takes is thought-provoking when you look at it from the big picture. When you're watching the movie, it can often seem confusing, pointless, or meandering. Why is he taking things apart? It makes sense later. Why the erratic behavior? We start to understand as the movie goes on. What the heck is going on with the vending machine company? It eventually is answered. This is a film that offers up not the most enjoyable viewing experience, but does pay off some once the movie finishes and we can see the whole picture. There were many moments while watching this film when I felt a bit lost and was just praying it would make sense in the end.

Jake Gyllenhaal does a very good job in the lead role. This part offers him a myriad of different emotions to play. He needed to display quite a bit of range here and he delivers. It's a strong performance- it's not quite flashy or incredible enough to garner end-of-the-year awards, but it's another reminder that Gyllenhaal is one of the best young actors working today. You wish the movie around him was a little better, but his performance is strong. I liked seeing Naomi Watts here. I feel like she's fallen off some in recent years as she's had fewer high-profile jobs. She's a talented actress and works well in this role. I was pleased to see her here. Chris Cooper was a welcome addition as well. He's such a strong actor and was exceptionally well cast in the role. It was fun seeing his interactions with Gyllenhaal.

It feels like this movie throws a lot at the audience in its relatively short 1 hour, 41 minute run time. We have the car crash, the vending machine letters, the demolition work, the bonding with the teenager, the new relationship/friendship, the foundation drama, a coming out of the closet moment, and on and on. It's kind of a crazy story, a bit of an "everything and the kitchen sink" approach. The positive is that you won't find many movies with this many different, unique aspects to it. That helps the film stand apart. The downside is that it gives the film a disjointed feeling, like there's less of a sense of forward momentum than a wandering from odd thing to odd thing. It eventually makes sense, but it makes the journey less enjoyable.

Demolition is a good movie, but it doesn't connect with the audience as well as director Jean-Marc Vallee's last two films, Wild and Dallas Buyers Club. Those movies both took broken people on interesting journeys as well, but were slightly more accessible and offered a larger emotional payoff. This film is in the same vein, but it doesn't quite connect as powerfully. Still, it's a solid effort and Vallee now has three effective movies in a row. This is a film that you probably missed, but it's worth seeing once.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Dallas Buyers Club, Wild, Brothers, Nightcrawler