Nocturnal Animals

Tom Ford's "Nocturnal Animals" is stylish, but simple.

It stars Oscar-nominees Amy Adams (as mopey LA art gallery owner Susan, with a penchant for perverse, gratuitous nudity installations, and is one iteration of the titular "nocturnal animal") and Jake Gyllenhaal (dual roles as her writer ex-husband Edward, with a generic Texas accent, and the proxy in his "Nocturnal Animal" novel Tony). The film looks good, since producer/director Ford is a clothing designer, but is an unimaginative screenwriter, as is evidenced by his script and the three Blu-ray features explaining his neophyte choices.

Forlorn Susan, in a loveless marriage with Hutton (Armie Hammer), receives a manuscript from Edward, dedicated to her despite their 19-year estrangement following a youthful marriage and divorce. As Susan reads, the movie bops back-and-forth from her present day to flashbacks of their union, to scenes from the violent Peckinpah-flavored book.

Laura Linney delivers a solid cameo as Anne, Susan's big-Texas-haired mamma (despite the obvious stereotype and hackneyed dialogue). The ever-amazing Michael Shannon was nominated for Oscar's Best Supporting Actor for his role as Detective Bobby Andes, a Marlboro Man-type lawman hoping to help Tony achieve justice. But even he can't save this terribly on-the-nose snooze-fest.

The three short Blu-ray extras shed light on why this project is unsuccessful - its conception is simply too obvious. "The Filmmaker's Eye" has Ford defend his rudimentary thought processes for film choices, explaining how the novel underscores the "real" relationship: "this is what you [Susan] did to me; you killed our [Tony and Edward's] life and family;" mansplaining of women blaming.

"The Building of the Story" has Ford explaining that each of the three storyline's is "about not throwing everything away." "The Look of 'Nocturnal Animals'" shares how the piece was shot on film, allowing colors to express three separate worlds yet maintain cohesion.

In keeping with the lack of subtextual choices, Susan's world is "photographic symmetry, an absence of color, cold and bluer" to indicate her, um, coldness. The flashbacks implement a warmer, richer palette, to indicate, um, a warmer life of fond memories. The book segments are highly saturated, gritty and harsh to echo, um, a gritty, harsh world.

Costumer Adrianne Phillips, who also worked with Ford on his 2009 "A Single Man," said they used many of the clothes he designed and even actual pieces from his own wardrobe, said Michael Sheen, who has a brief part as friend Carlos. The clothes and the sets are gorgeous, but a filmgoer deserves more than a catwalk stomp. Adams remarks that "nothing in my life is as beautiful as Tom creates." In a narrative, one hopes for more substance than style.

"Nocturnal Animals"
Blu-ray and DVD Combo Pack
$19.96
http://www.focusfeatures.com/nocturnalanimals