Review: Gyllenhaal gives us another excellent performance in emotional ‘Demolition’

Posted on April 15, 2016

By MARK VIOLA

Sometimes a partnership just seems like a perfect idea for everyone involved. That was my thought when I first saw the trailer for “Demolition,” a film from director Jean-Marc Vallée and starring Jake Gyllenhaal.

Gyllenhaal has given us some terrific performances of late in films such as “Nightcrawler” and “Southpaw”–although admittedly I haven’t seen either movie–but so far he has found himself on the outside looking in when the major award nominations were announced. On the other hand, Vallée’s previous two films, “Dallas Buyers Club” and “Wild,” each earned two acting nominations at the Academy Awards with Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto picking up wins for their work in “Dallas Buyers Club.”

So of course this appears on paper to be a perfect marriage. But is it? Fortunately, it is, because this is easily one of the best acted films of 2016 I’ve seen so far. Like Vallée’s other films, “Demolition” is a deeply personal story about a character dealing with the unexpected curveballs life tends to throw at us.

Gyllenhaal plays Davis, an investment banker whose life is upended when his wife is killed in a car accident and he finds himself wholly unprepared to deal with the emotional aftermath.

“Demolition” is a film that is immaculately directed, with each scene holding more meaning that it might first appear. The editing is almost surgical in its complexity but never feels forced and truly sets up the story in a way that reaches a level of authenticity and emotion that I don’t see any other approach reaching.

This is truly an example of a director and actor finding each other at the top of their respective games. And that’s ignoring the fantastic work put forth by Naomi Watts (“St. Vincent”) and Chris Cooper (“The Bourne Identity”), not to mention newcomer Lewis. The acting from top to bottom in this movie is downright excellent.

“Demolition” tackles a subject we are not always willing to face, but it does so in a downright beautiful way, making this one of the best movies I’ve seen so far this
year.

The film is rated R for language, some sexual references, drug use and disturbing behavior.

(This is a abbreviated version of the full review available in our printed or e-edition papers.)

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