One of Quebec’s great exports finally meets his match.
After a great one – two punch with Dallas Buyers Club and Wild, director Jean Marc Vallee gives us Demolition. Like all his work, this new film it is a challenging visceral piece that is the mark of a serious filmmaker. But even so, I never felt that this film worked. Is it ambitious? Yes. Great? No.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Davis, a spoiled big city businessman who has his world turned upside down when a horrible tragedy takes the life of his wife. Feeling little emotion from this event, Davis decides that he needs to shock himself into feeling anything. He does this by wrecking things. He joins a wrecking crew, takes apart his home, all to try and feel raw emotion. He finds some solace in dating a single mom, played by Naomi Watts. He also forms a bond with her troubled son played by Judah Lewis.
My issue is that, as much as I love Gyllenhaal, is that Davis strikes me as such a preppy, pampered ass that I don’t care for him. And that took me out of the movie. Vallee uses all the tricks to try to remind us what Davis lost (via flashbacks, dreams etc) but we don’t care. He is such an introvert, such a stilted character that we breath relief when other actors pop in to remind him that he should be feeling something. Watts is a welcome sight, playing the straight role, the audience really. She tries to figure Davis out and grows fond of him. Chris Cooper shows up as Davis suffering father in law and reminds us what a great character actor he is.
No doubt that Jean Marc Valle is an amazing filmmaker. His talent shines here. His style is visible, his knowledge of the craft is impeccable. It’s just too bad that his lead character is such a letdown.
