Director: Hossein Amini.
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Isaac, Kirsten Dunst.
Running Time: 96 minutes.
Certificate: 12A.
Synopsis: A thriller centered on a con artist, his wife, and a stranger who try to flee a foreign country after one of them is caught up in the murder of a police officer.
This adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel held a lot of promise due to the people surrounding it. From the direction by celebrated screenwriter Hossein Amini, to the TINKER TAILOR production team, this looked like it would be a subtle and low-key, intelligent thriller. But while the visuals and ideas are deliciously vivid, the script falters with a surprising lack of intensity.
The film opens in 1962 Athens, with Rydal (Oscar Isaac), an American tour-guide, showing apparently giddy young women around the city and impressing them with his knowledge. Isaac captivated in INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS and once again his character is a little untrustworthy, but this time more focused and confident in his self-assured persona. After a few chance encounters, he bumps into Chester MacFarland (Viggo Mortensen) and his wife Colette (Kirsten Dunst). Chester is immediately suspicious of Rydal but after learning of his knowledge of the area, they pick him up as a tour guide and their three different lives begin to merge.
While obsessions grow stronger and the odd dead body turns up in a hotel room, the characters begin to cross over and collide in ways that will change their futures. But as stunning as everything looks (and though it has all the right intentions), there isn’t an excessive amount of suspense built. So, when major incidents occur and you’d expect to be more affected, it doesn’t feel surprising at all.
Saying this, Mortensen gives another great performance that slightly echoes the likes of A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. Once again playing a character hiding something, he is one of few actors you can’t pin down to a specific role, but always intense and compelling. Oscar Isaac also proves his talent beyond LLEWYN DAVIS as he becomes tangled in a web and subtly portrays a man out of his depth. Dunst suffers somewhat as Colette, affable and lacking depth considering her decisions made throughout.
THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY dramatically picks up pace in its final third where you suddenly feel the tension growing. However, in retrospect it feels too late, and we’re left with that unfortunate moment and a tiny slice of what could have been. Overall, it’s a solid, sturdy directorial debut for Amini and, although it stumbles a little in conviction, there are beautiful moments where it becomes a stylish, precise thriller that’s wrapped up with a sufficient conclusive narrative.
[usr=3] THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY opens in UK cinemas on Friday 16th May, 2014.
