A morose art gallery curator (Amy Adams), with her second marriage to a suave, disloyal decorator (Armie Hammer) on the outs, receives by mail the latest novel from her ex-husband (Jake Gyllenhaal) which tells the story of a family being terrorized on a Texas highway by a band of marauders, and severely shakes her up and impacts her sense of guilt. Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals is an attempt to blend his own sleek, lifeless vision with some sort of feeble attempt at modern noir resulting in a phony, pretentious, clearly Oscar luring, unintentionally funny muddle that brings down the fine cast assembled around it which also includes an amusing Michael Shannon and an insufferable Aaron Taylor-Ross.
1/2 * out of ****
