Nocturnal Animals (2016)
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Tom Ford's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
- Tom Ford originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- Many of the practical effects used in the climax were achieved without any CGI.
Nocturnal Animals is a 2016 American neo-noir psychological thriller written and directed by Tom Ford, based on Austin Wright's 1993 novel Tony and Susan. Amy Adams stars as Susan Morrow, a wealthy Los Angeles art gallery owner trapped in an empty marriage, who receives the manuscript of a novel written by her ex-husband Edward Sheffield, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. As Susan reads the violent, devastating story — depicted in the film as a parallel narrative starring Gyllenhaal as a man whose family is terrorized on a remote Texas highway — she recognizes it as Edward's artistic revenge for the way she treated him during their marriage.
Tom Ford, the fashion designer making his second film, created a visually stunning triptych — the glossy, sterile world of Susan's present life, the warm-toned flashbacks of her relationship with Edward, and the dusty, terrifying Texas highway of the novel. Michael Shannon's performance as the laconic, cancer-stricken detective Bobby Andes in the novel-within-the-film was the film's most celebrated element, earning him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Aaron Taylor-Johnson won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his menacing portrayal of the highway criminal Ray Marcus.
Nocturnal Animals earned $32 million worldwide on a $22 million budget.
