The film "Destruction". Reviews about a new project by Jean-Marc Valle

Famous for the dramatic films "Dallas Club of Buyers" and "Wild" Canadian director Jean-Marc Valle in 2015 presented to the viewer a new story in which he intentionally plunged the extremely depressed protagonist into the midst of emotionally intense changes. The film "Destruction" reviews got mixed, despite the fact that its rating is quite high (IMDb: 7.10). The picture is full of a good idea, truisms, but the narrative has a spirit of indiscretion, its atmosphere is similar to the projects of Jason Reitman and David O. Russell.

The problem with the metaphor

A new promising project by Jean-Marc Valle at the production stage threatened to compete with the 2015 Oscar nominees. However, after the official show in Toronto, many filmmakers put a cross on it, in their opinion, the film "Destruction" reviews deserved neutral or negative. What is really strange, because Valle's paintings have recently collected all possible film awards and nominations. Perhaps the problem is that the director used too much visual techniques, while the basic metaphor remains on the surface all along the timing of the tape.

Oscar potential

Experts, analyzing the drama "Destruction" (2015), reviews about the film were cautious, because it has a really Oscar potential. Nevertheless, they reproached the director for fear that he would take risks and bring the action to a boil. The result is disappointing: as the leading author of The Guardian admitted, "during the viewing, the impression was created that it was a remake of a European arthouse painting that lost its essence due to an unfair translation."

Pleasant bonuses

Filmstrip "Destruction" reviews of the film, received from the audience, also denoted the imperfect, but unequivocally undeservedly kicked critics. According to ordinary people, the director managed to unobtrusively but gracefully transform the purely individual history of the individual sufferer into a conceptual family drama with a culmination that has a warming effect. Among the pleasant bonuses of the picture, the viewers' comments on the film "Destruction" highlight the impressive game of Gyllenhaal, the significant emphasis on the person in the drawing of secondary characters, the beautifully chosen music in the style of indie rock. In addition to the listed to the merits of the tape, one can safely refer to the unhurried pace of the narrative, the absence of dramatic moments. The action, of course, is diluted by the dynamics, but in a very small number of episodes. In the drama, there is a small amount of dry humor and there is no emotional catharsis, so the tape looks very nice.

Plot

Contributing authors, evaluating the film "Destruction", reviews of the plot line of the picture left skeptical, indicating the secondary nature of the plot.

The main character - a successful New York banker Davis (Jake Gyllenhaal) lost his wife in a car crash. However, he does not feel anything, so he understands that for the last 12 years he lived in a state of utter detachment. He went to work, lived with an unloved woman in a house that he hated, had no friends at all. At the moment of inspiration, the M & M's pack gets stuck in the machine, which prompts the widower to write a long, detailed complaint to the vending company. The letter, in which the hero practically pours out the soul, falls into the hands of an employee Karen (Naomi Watts), who is imbued with sympathy for Davis. So between the characters a friendship is fastened. As both heroes find out, to destroy the former to build a new one, is much more fun together.

The main destroyer

Perhaps the film "Destruction" (2016) reviews are not particularly laudatory about the structure of the narrative received deservedly. The movie is full of understatement, but it eventually transforms into a sincere story, in which the characters speak and do whatever they want, and do not shut themselves off from the surrounding reality with empty phrases. The banker, after the tragedy has rethought his entire existence, trying to realize his loss, finally learns to express himself in everything: in words and actions. It seems as if it is blowing away the boundaries of ordinary life and trying to discover new ones. Actor Jake Gyllenhaal literally surpassed himself, embodying such a complex, characteristic character. The remaining performers, most likely, simply did not have enough room for maneuvers. The best acting works of Jake are roles in the films "October sky", "Source code", "The day after tomorrow", "Captive", "Donnie Darko".

Actors' Ensemble

The heroine of Naomi Watts, the actress who glittered in the "Painted Veil", "Impossible", "21 grams" and in "Mulholland Drive", looks a bit blurry. Performer role Julia Heather Lindt the creators did not allow to demonstrate the full range of talent, because her character, appearing at the very beginning, after only flashes in the recollections of the main character. Many others see sketches as soon as they are voluminous, attracting the attention of the characters. The exception is Phil, the hero of Chris Cooper, who decorated his presence with the film "Destruction". Reviews of his acting was positive. As noted by reviewers, Cooper turned out to be the most complete image, which evokes sympathy for the audience. Praise on the part of critics was also awarded to Jude Lewis.

Verdict

And yet, even with a lot of strong components (a magnificent visual range, muted colors, musical accompaniment), "Destruction" does not reach the predicted and expected level. Perhaps, due to the fact that the power of the main idea to the final noticeably weakens, although it does not disappear completely, being scattered on unjustified subjective banks.