In DEMOLITION, a successful investment banker, Davis (Jake Gyllenhaal), struggles after losing his wife in a tragic car crash. Despite pressure from his father-in-law (Chris Cooper) 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 (Naomi Watts) and, amidst emotional and financial burdens of her own, the two strangers form an unlikely connection. With the help of Karen and her son (Judah Lewis), Davis starts to rebuild, beginning with the demolition of the life he once knew.
Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club), shot by Yves Bélanger (Brooklyn, Lawrence Anyways).
ok, to simplify my previous comment:
what I was trying to say was that this is yet another film that teaches wealthy (mostly white) people to fetishise the idea of separating from material goods they were (mostly) given from birth as a means to enlightenment, all the while ignoring the plight of the (literal) millions of people who would have given everything to have been born in these circumstances.
not to harp on “Into the Wild”, but I have lost count of how many people I have met who praise that film’s “I don’t want THINGS” message (one that, if you look into McCandless life, is also not 100% all there) while dining in posh restaurants, living in prime real estate bought by their parents.
that’s the disconnect. to them, having no possessions is a fantasy. to most people, having no possessions is having no possessions.
we have “favela tours” here in Rio. I call them “poverty safaris”. you can’t use someone else’s misfortune to make your privilege more meaningful.
so… this is gonna replace “Into The Wild” as the “well made, well acted film about how people of privilege TRANSCEND into depth”?
I mean, really… this is a film made by the creme-de-la-creme of Hollywood about a guy LITERALLY BULLDOZING HIS MCMANSION with the intent of achieving depth of thought.
yet I bet that Vallée, Gyllenhaal, et al. all live in even nicer houses, and wouldn’t give them up for the world.
the film itself doesn’t look half bad, but this insidious (for lack of a better word) depiction of “wealth as evil” that is always made by the whitest, most successful people in the movie business has to stop.
I was born into a position of vast privilege in my country. instead of pretending to be ashamed of it, I was always aware that it was just that: privilege. I was always taught that most people in my country do NOT have the comforts I do, and that I ought to be grateful for it.
and yet here is a film that is made entirely to feed the fantasy of my fellow people of privilege that “everyone else has it so much better because they don’t have our THINGS! TEAR ALL YOUR THINGS DOWN!”
this reminds me of a girl I dated a few years ago who lived in a fantastic apartment, had all her bills paid by her parents, wore the fanciest clothes ever, ate at the best restaurants in town, and yet proudly and (scarily enough) genuinely called herself “a communist who was against private property and material posessions”.
one of her favourite films was, no surprise, “Into the Wild”.
I don’t know if I made myself clear here. this trailer really pissed me off… sorry.
So over films where women are basically used as plot devices to facilitate the journey of emotional maturity that the central male character subsequently embarks on, only to realise that he never even needed her because he’s 100% man and that’s always enough, WHAT A GUY!!
And that’s two in a year for Jake on that count. Poor Naomi.
I also fancy — among other kinds — a relatively small film that seems to revolve round a main character’s life, an unhappy/miserable one or so, and his/her struggle to stand up again. It sounds formulaic but that’s what I’m looking for whenever I’m in mood for it. And for some reason, this trailer has done just right, as well.
Jake Gyllenhaal also looks like being properly cast as far as the trailer goes — I could definitely feel the vibe here.
I kind of hated this trailer.
Oh god, why is Naomi Watts *barely* in this trailer? Isn’t she the second-most important character in the film? :0
@Al Sure. It’s no great shakes or anything but it’s decent. It’s a fall type movie, so maybe wait a couple weeks.
It’s weird. While I felt like this trailer was very handily done and well executed, I don’t think it will do audiences any favors (draw them in). Having said that, yes, by this point, I’ll see anything that Jake Gyllenhaal is in. I think he’s a fantastic actor.
Antoinette, I agree. It looks peppier than Southpaw. I haven’t seen Moonlight Mile. Should I?
“So that’s two films in a row where Jake Gyllenhaal’s wife dies and he unravels. Interesting.”
Yeah. I was thinking our Jake might actually be a morose character for a minute but then I watched the trailer and this one seems like it might be going for a more peppy realization of what life is about. Although, I can’t help but think MOONLIGHT MILE too.
“Even though this trailer did nothing for me, Gyllenhaal is now the kind of actor whose film I’ll watch solely because he is in it.”
Oh. I’ve been there since BUBBLE BOY. I hated SOUTHPAW, but that won’t stop me from seeing this.
This man Jake Gyllenhaal will get his recognition one day. From End of Watch to the present he simply can do no wrong in my book. This looks like another winning performance. I’m still a bit perplexed they moved this to spring. Maybe they thought this wasn’t AMPAS friendly?
Even though this trailer did nothing for me, Gyllenhaal is now the kind of actor whose film I’ll watch solely because he is in it. After learning the hard way that the franchise game is a slippery slope (Prince of Persia), he delivered 6 star vehicles in 6 years and all six were interesting, (mostly) well-received, profitable and wildly different, allowing him to prove himself to be not only a legit leading man but also one of the best actors of his generation : Love & Other Drugs (2010), Source Code (2011), End of Watch (2012), Prisoners (2013), Nightcrawler (2014), Southpaw (2015). The fact that the Academy failed to recognise any of these performances (and they probably won’t give two shits about his stellar work in Southpaw, either), is kind of ridiculous at this point.
P.S. Hopefully we’ll get more than this blink-and-you-miss-it-one-line from Naomi Watts in the next trailer. Based on the synopsis she is basically the female lead so why we saw so little of her here, is a mystery to me.
I think the film looks good. I’d watch Jake Gyllenhaal read a phone book. I’m curious as to how his narration in the trailer will translate into the film itself. It seems like that narration was done exlusively for the trailer.
So that’s two films in a row where Jake Gyllenhaal’s wife dies and he unravels. Interesting.