Nocturnal Animals (2016)

  This movie was a trash fire from start to finish.  Do yourself a favor and don't watch it.

Susan (Amy Adams) lives a beautiful, empty life in Los Angeles but feels unfulfilled.  Then she gets a novel in the mail from and written by her ex-husband (Jake Gyllenhaal).  She starts reading and finds herself drawn in to the story of a man (Jake Gyllenhaal) whose beautiful redhead wife (Isla Fisher) and daughter (Ellie Bamber) are brutally murdered by a gang of scofflaws and his attempts to find justice with a grizzled detective (Michael Shannon).

This was written and directed by Tom Ford, who is best known as a fashion designer.  This film is beautiful and as empty as a suit on a hanger.  It's not art.  It doesn't have anything in particular to say. In fact, I would go so far as to call it deliberately mean-spirited, especially with regard to its female characters.  They are objects in this film.  Sometimes objects of beauty, but always objects.

What makes me even madder is that this is really well-constructed as a film.  There are no wasted shots.  Everything is gorgeously framed.  It is paced well and maintains tension throughout.  The performances are excellent.  That all that effort and skill went into making something so misogynistic and hateful just makes me livid.

It was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Michael Shannon but that really was a wasted nomination.  Shannon is good in everything but this was not his best work, probably not even his best work in 2016.