Famous for the dramatic films “Dallas Buyers Club” and “Wild”, the Canadian director-producer Jean-Marc Valle in 2015 presented a new story to the audience, in which he deliberately plunged the extremely depressed protagonist into a series of emotionally saturated changes. The film "Destruction" received mixed reviews, despite the fact that its rating is quite high (IMDb: 7.10). The picture is full of sound design, truisms, however, the narrative has a spirit of illegibility, its atmosphere is similar to the projects of Jason Reitman and David O. Russell.
Problem with metaphor
Jean-Marc Vallet's new promising project, already at the production stage, threatened to compete with the 2015 Oscar nominees. However, after the official screening in Toronto, many filmmakers put an end to it, in their opinion, the film "Destruction" reviews earned neutral or negative. Which is really strange, because the paintings of Valle recently collected all the possible film awards and nominations. Perhaps the problem is that the director used too obvious techniques, while the main metaphor remains on the surface throughout the entire timing of the tape.
Oscar potential
Experts, analyzing the drama "Destruction" (2015), left comments on the film cautious, because it really has an Oscar potential. Nevertheless, they reproached the director for being afraid to take risks and bring the action to a boil. The result is disappointing: as the lead author of The Guardian admitted, “during the viewing it seemed that it was a remake of the European arthouse painting, which had lost its essence due to an unfair translation.”
Nice bonuses
The film "Destruction" reviews of the film, received from the audience, also identified imperfect, but definitely undeservedly kicked by critics. According to ordinary people, the director managed to unobtrusively but gracefully turn the purely individual story of an individual sufferer into a conceptual family drama with a climax that has a warming effect. Among the pleasant bonuses of the picture, the audience’s reviews of the film “Destruction” distinguish Gyllenhaal’s impressive game, significant emphasis on personalities in drawing secondary characters, and well-chosen indie rock music. In addition to the listed advantages of the tape, you can safely include the unhurried pace of the narrative, the absence of action-packed moments. The action, of course, is diluted with dynamics, but in an extremely small number of episodes. There is a small amount of dry humor in the drama and no emotional catharsis, so the tape looks very nice.
Plot
Contributing authors, evaluating the film "Destruction," left skepticism about the storyline of the picture, indicating the secondary nature of the plot.
The main character - a successful New York banker Davis (Jake Gyllenhaal) lost his wife in a car accident. However, he does not feel anything, therefore, understands that for the past 12 years he has lived in a state of complete 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 enlightenment, M & M's pack is stuck in his machine, which prompts the widower to write a long detailed complaint to the vending company. A letter in which the hero practically pours out his soul falls into the hands of employee Karen (Naomi Watts), who is imbued with sympathy for Davis. Thus, friendship is struck between the heroes. As both heroes find out, tearing down the former in order to build a new one is much more fun together.
Main destroyer
Perhaps the film "Destruction" (2016) received not much praise about the structure of the narrative deservedly. The movie is full of understatement, but over time it transforms into a sincere story in which the characters speak and do what they want, rather than fencing themselves off from surrounding reality with empty phrases. The banker, after the tragedy, rethought his entire existence, trying to realize his loss, is finally learning to express himself in everything: in words and actions. It is as if he is pushing the boundaries of a familiar life and is 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 considered roles in the films “October Sky”, “Source Code”, “The Day After Tomorrow”, “Prisoners”, “Donny Darko”.
Acting Ensemble
The heroine Naomi Watts, the actress who shone in The Painted Veil, The Impossible, 21 Grams and Mulholland Drive, looks somewhat blurry. The performers of the role of Julia Heather Lindt were not allowed to demonstrate the full range of talent, because her heroine, appearing at the very beginning, after only flashes in the memoirs of the protagonist. Many others are seen as sketches rather than voluminous, eye-catching characters. The exception is Phil, the hero of Chris Cooper, who graced the movie "Destruction" with his presence. Reviews of his acting got positive. As reviewers noted, Cooper got the most complete image, causing the sympathy of the audience. Jude Lewis was also praised by critics.
Verdict
And yet, even with many strong components (a great 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 dominant idea towards the finale is noticeably weakening, although it does not disappear completely, spraying onto unjustified plot banks.