Synopsis
A sympathetic woman and her rebellious son form a strong bond
with an investment banker whose life begins to unravel following the death of
his wife.
Davis Mitchell, a successful investment banker, struggles
after losing his wife in a tragic car crash. Despite pressure from his father
in law, Phil, to pull it together, Davis continues to unravel. What starts as a
complaint letter to a vending machine company turns into a series of letters
revealing startling personal admissions. Davis' letters catch the attention of
customer service rep, Karen Mareno and amidst emotional and financial burdens
of her own, the two form an unlikely connection. With the help of Karen and her
son, Chris, Davis starts to rebuild, beginning with the demolition of the life
he once knew.
Karen’s barely pubescent son, a cross-dressing tear away
played by Judah Lewis, forms a more significant relationship with Davis than
she does, and becomes an accomplice in the latter’s relentless coping strategy
(if that’s what it is) of dismantling every appliance and mechanism, from
fridges to office computers, he can get his hands on.
As an investment banker struggles after losing his wife in a
tragic car crash, his increasingly confessional series of letters to a vending
machine company catch the attention of a customer service rep with whom he
forms an unlikely connection.
"Demolition" brings the story of Davis Mitchell (played by Jake Gyllenhaal). As the movie opens, we see Davis, a successful investment banker, chatting in the car with his wife Julie, when out of nowhere the car is hit sideways. Julia dies in the accident, while Davis doesn't have as much as a scratch. At the hospital, Davis tries to buy peanut M&Ms from a vending machine, which eats his money. Davis tries to write to the vendor's customer department. Meanwhile, it's clear that mentally, Davis can't seem to process it all, and he starts withdrawing. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
The film makes its first lunge for black comedy when Davis writes to a vending machine’s customer services department, explaining not only his accident, moments after being widowed, with a bag of peanut M&Ms, but his entire life story leading to that point.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't in the least surprised, as this movie is anything but uplifting. If you are in the mood for a heavy psychological drama or simply want to see Jake Gyllenhall's or Naomi Watts' latest performance, I'd suggest you check this out, be it in theaters, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.
ReplyDeleteThe actors show similar commitment, with Gyllenhaal conveying inner emptiness and/or confusion in a smartly understated way. While Watts is reliably vulnerable, it’s Judah Lewis as her son Chris who does the heavier emotional lifting. The scenario does contain a couple of unexpected stings in its tale, which almost makes the inevitable redemption payoff play a little less pat than it might have under different circumstances.
ReplyDeleteVallee fails to generate much sympathy for his adult characters, as a result of which large stretches of the film, including a decidedly manipulative final sequence, fall somewhat flat.
ReplyDeleteThe story of a bereaved man who starts to dismantle household appliances and, later, buildings, the whole movie are a laboured metaphor: we get it, he's falling apart.
Gyllenhaal, though, does a very impressive job as the bereaved broker, overcoming the script’s contrivances to convince us of his character’s emotional journey out of numbness. He gets excellent support, too, from Naomi Watts as the pot-smoking single mother to whom he reaches out and from Judah Lewis, a real find, as her sexually confused teenage son.
ReplyDelete