Nocturnal Animals is a 2016 film written, directed and produced by Tom Ford from a novel by Austin Wright called “Tony and Susan” published in 1993. The film stars Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon and Arron Taylor-Johnson.

Amy Adams plays Susan Morrow, an art gallery owner who is sent a manuscript for a novel written by her ex-husband Edward Sheffield. The novel is about Tony Hastings, a man who is travelling with his family in West Texas and is driven off the road by a gang of ruffians, and from that point on, Edward’s life unravels.

As Susan reads Edwards’ novel, we see flashbacks of Susan’s life and her difficulty in balancing her love for Edward and her need for outward social validation. She chooses to social climb and grab all the external trappings of wealth instead of living with Edward in relative obscurity.

She is now regretful and deeply unhappy and reflects upon all of the decisions that have led her to this point. She is in a loveless marriage to a husband who is cheating on her, and she dislikes herself and her life.

The novel is really a metaphor for everything that Edward feels about his time with Susan, and what she did to him.

This is one of those film that is exceptionally well made and acted, but is one I will probably not watch a second time, simply because of its dark subject matter. It is quite a tense and harrowing film.

Amy Adams’ performance is great, and she looks stunning in this film. Jake Gyllenhaal gives a gripping performance, and you really feel his anguish and sorrow as his life is turned upside down.

Michael Shannon turns in a stoic performance as a sheriff in the novel who helps Tony hunt down the villains of the story. One of those villains is played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who is also quite good.

It’s a pity that Tom Ford hasn’t made any more films, because he is quite skilled as both a writer and director, but I suppose that it has become increasingly difficult to get medium budget films made, as the studios don’t want to risk possible financial failure.

The irony is that Hollywood studios are spending $200 million or more on films that are very badly written and directed and are usually prequels, sequels, reboots or remakes that people don’t want to see, and the studios are losing millions of dollars in the process.

Anyway, this film is definitely worth seeing as It is very well written, directed and acted. However you should go in knowing that it is quite dramatic and harrowing and doesn’t exactly leave you feeling elated at the end. It’s still worth watching.