Sydney ’16: Demolition review: Jake Gyllenhaal gives another strong turn as he teams with Dallas Buyer’s Club director Jean-Marc Vallée.
Kat Hughes takes a look at the latest Jake Gyllenhaal movie, which teams him with Naomi Watts. Check out our Demolition review below.
Demolition review
Can you believe it’s been fifteen years since the release ofRichard Kelly’s Donnie Darko, the film which launched actor Jake Gyllenhaal? Since then Gyllenhaal, more than some of his peers, has been drawn to some dark and different projects. He has still hit a couple of speed bumps along the way – Prince of Persia: Sands of Time proved that Gyllenhaal isn’t cut out to be an action hero, and his attempt at romantic comedies (Accidental Love, Love & Other Drugs) both died at the box office. Unlike most though, Gyllenhaal learns from his mistakes and Demolition is yet another bold choice from the actor. In recent years it appears that he is determined to skirt the blockbuster / superhero trend in favour of honing his craft.
Demolition has Gyllenhaal star as Davis, a motivated investment banker whose life gets turned upside down after the sudden death of his wife. Following her death, Davis soon comes to realise that he’s not sure whether he really truly loved his wife as he never really paid attention to her. This epiphany leads Davis struggling to cope with his grief, and after a vending machine misfires and withholds his peanut M and M’s, leads to a series of letters to the vending company wherein he pours out his inner thoughts and desires. At this point we meet customer service employee Karen (Naomi Watts) who reaches out to Davis after reading his heartfelt messages. The pair then form an unlikely bond; a bond which expands to include Karen’s teenage son Chris (Judah Lewis). With the help of his new friends, Davis sets about reconstructing his life, but first he need to do a little demolition.
Demolition review
Gyllenhaal’s turn as Davis is measured and engaging, with a panache of eccentricity which interestingly feels almost like a natural progression from Lou Bloom and Donnie Darko. He’s backed up by some stellar supporting performances from Chris Cooper, Watts and Lewis. The relationship between Davis and Chris is especially sweet, charming and surprisingly funny. Lewis deserves a special commendation as he portrays Chris and all of his teenage angst in a delicate and mature manner.
Demolitionas a whole is actually surprisingly witty and much more amusing than one would expect from a film that deals with the aftermath of death. The humour isn’t belly laugh hilarious but rather has several instances of unexpected comedy, the best moment being a conversation between Chris and Davis in a hardware store; an inspired riff on the birds and the bees conversation. Whilst the humour is enjoyable it makes the film hard to pigeon-hole and we all know how Hollywood likes things that fit neatly into boxes.
Demolition review
The most important element of Demolition is that in many ways it throws a mirror up to the audience, reflecting some very familiar scenarios back. The opening five minutes will encourage cinema-goers to reassess their own intimate relationships. It also offers a more realistic view of grief than we’re used too. Granted not everyone goes around taking apart anything that crosses their paths, but the fact that Davis isn’t the stereotypical weeping mess is very refreshing.
With Demolition we get yet another strong performance from Gyllenhaal, strengthened further by a talented team of support actors. An interesting and brave look at some rather taboo subjects, Demolition may struggle to find its audience in multiplexes, but is well worth your time.
Kat Hughes is a UK born film critic and interviewer who has a passion for horror films. An editor for THN, Kat is also a Rotten Tomatoes Approved Critic. She has bylines with Ghouls Magazine, Arrow Video, Film Stories, Certified Forgotten and FILMHOUNDS and has had essays published in home entertainment releases by Vinegar Syndrome and Second Sight. When not writing about horror, Kat hosts micro podcast Movies with Mummy along with her five-year-old daughter.
