Demolition

"I find I'm suddenly starting to notice things I never saw before. Well, maybe I saw them: I just wasn't paying attention."

Demolition, a 2016 drama directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, follows a disconnected man’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) attempts to break apart his life (often in more of the literal fashion that one might expect) after his wife dies in a car crash.

Okay, okay- since I already dropped his name, I might as well mention the obvious: Demolition stars Jake Gyllenhaal as the main character. What? You were expecting more? Well, I could have very well put more into that original sentence… if it wasn’t for the fact that simply saying his name is already handing a specific film a positive aspect from the get-go. Or, in other words: Jake Gyllenhaal is a phenomenal actor. He has such a wide variety of portraying emotions (or, in some cases in Demolition, the complete polar opposite of such) that by simply mentioning his name in the cast list, the quality of acting in your film boosts up ten-fold.

However, that isn’t to say that the other, nearly equally-as-important performances are simply okay, as I think it’s safe to say that Demolition has of the finest casts I’ve seen in a while. While Naomi Watts does a great job at her certain character, it’s especially her (in-film) son- Judah Lewis- that particularly steals the show whenever he’s in frame.

Other than that, a lot of other aspects of Demolition are equally as stellar: the cinematography is beautiful to look at, the tone the film is going for (most of the time) is well-directed, and the plot as a whole is very interesting to follow along with, but there’s one big thing that a lot of people who have seen the film at all (given that it wasn’t as popular as most) can universally agree on- at times, Demolition can feel a bit messy.

Now, that isn’t to say that it was written as such, but that is to say that sometimes- only sometimes- the execution can feel a bit convoluted. For instance, take a look at some of the plot points near the end: intriguing plot points (that also just happen to have quite the buildup) are finished off quickly, making it appear as if the filmmakers just wanted to keep it within a certain time frame, afraid to dare to extend the runtime by just a few sufficient minutes. On top of that, other plot points that should have been addressed felt as if they were skipped over, or just were intended for the audience to imagine their own scenarios for instead. All in all: Demolition was just a tad bit confusing, and not in the intentional way either- in the accidental, unaware way that leaves some audience members confused; not dissatisfied, but confused.

Either way you want to look at it, though, Demolition is still a wholly good film. Sure, some plot points near the end are handled a bit messily, and sure, some could say that the film falls for an odd cliché near the end (no spoilers, though), but, overall, with a stellar cast, a consistently interesting, constantly moving plot, and a unique vision, Demolition is more than enough to satisfy.

6/10- While it isn’t without its somewhat jumbled mistakes, Demolition is still a surefire work that boasts an interesting, always-moving plot, a unique tone, and a knock-it-out-of-the-park cast; or, in other words, how have more people not seen this?

#August2016