Read Mixed User Reviews for Demolition

6

SpangleAug 26, 2016

Demolition is a solid film, but just does not fit together well. In many ways, it is broken just like its main character. Though his pain and lack of connection to that pain is entirely relatable due to his inclination to push things away andDemolition is a solid film, but just does not fit together well. In many ways, it is broken just like its main character. Though his pain and lack of connection to that pain is entirely relatable due to his inclination to push things away and not really pay attention, the film is also really cliche. From beginning to end, Demolition plays out like your average indie movie that explores grief in the wake of the death of a loved one. Jake Gyllenhaal is terrific, the soundtrack is good, and the film can really hit hard at times, but can never escape being your run-of-the-mill film about loss. It never really achieves what it sets out to do in communicating this pain due to its sheer averageness. Additionally, though I see a parallel it tried to create between characters, the film really winds up becoming distracted as it focuses on too much and too many stories in its short runtime. If longer, it may have had a chance to explore more of these. However, it seemed like Jean-Marc Vallee just decided he wanted to touch on a bunch of existential issues and figured he could cram them into Demolition. Fortunately, Gyllenhaal is just so good, I can look past much of those issues. For those who are not afraid or tired of these cliches, Demolition may feel like a breath of fresh air and hit you like a ton of bricks. For those who often find themselves watching films such as this, it will feel tired, even if its rock tunes and top-notch acting bring it slightly above the mean.… Expand

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5

NightReviewsAug 23, 2016

Grief is a funny thing; its affects on people change not only the person experiencing such a powerful and life-altering emotion, but it changes the way people around you view you, and the choices people make around you. One of the manyGrief is a funny thing; its affects on people change not only the person experiencing such a powerful and life-altering emotion, but it changes the way people around you view you, and the choices people make around you. One of the many emotions and reflections that the film allowed me to analyze was, thankfully for myself, the lack of grief that I have had to experience in my life thus far, and the amount of grief stricken in the world around me, with numerous people who have directly dealt with lose first-hand in my life everyday.

Jean-Marc Vallée, the director of many heavy-handed drama films like C.R.A.Z.Y., The Young Victoria, The Dallas Buyers Club, Café de Flore and Wild, really loves to make movies with heavy use of symbolism. In his newest directorial effort, Demolition, the symbolism for the deconstruction of Davis’ life, played unflinchingly by the always stellar Jake Gyllenhaal, really doesn’t hold back its explicit nature. Living an overall numb life from the moment we meet him, Davis seems to live each and everyday with very little to almost no real, pure emotions. Rather, explaining the paths of his life with monotone vigour, including the timeline of his wife’s life, their meeting, and ultimately, her tragic death, Davis becomes avery difficult man to like, in all aspects of his life.

What’s funny about Demolition is, the film’s life begins with Julia’s (Heather Lind) death. In some of the very first and brief scenes of the film, we see Julia and Davis interact, almost as any other couple would; comfortable, passively and without much conviction. What starts off as a simple conversation in the car between husband and wife, quickly turns deadly, as the car is hit, Davis is bloody in a hospital waiting room with his in-laws Fil and Margot (Chris Cooper and Polly Draper) waiting on the news of his wife’s fate. As we see in the trailer, Julia never makes it. Fortunately for us, Vallée has an amazing way of allowing audiences to see an obscure and unexplored perspective on so many moments we come to expect to see in film, and turns them on its head. For example, after the news of Julia’s death, Davis makes his way into the operating room where his wife once laid. The room, empty and full of blood on the floors, white operating sheets and medical tools used to attempt to save her life, is one of the first very poignant images Vallée has become famous with offering, giving perspective on the very real images of life, more specifically, on a moment many people never really see or associate with death on a hospital bed; an empty bed with nothing but blood and shattered prayers.

As the early reviews of this film began to flood online after its initial premiere and choice as the opening night film for TIFF 40 in 2015, Demolition has seem to be one universally accepted film to divide people. Going into the film, I was wondering why. I mean, Gyllenhaal is one of the supreme acting forces of our young generation, Vallée is an excellent storyteller and director, and the supporting cast and crew is nothing short of talented, yet, the film, scripted by Bryan Sipe tells a very discombobulated tale of one many’s very operatic struggle to cope with one of two things; the death of his wife, or the realization that he was never in love with the woman he was married to. The film begins to show, not why, but, all the if’s in Davis’ life.

At times, do not get me wrong, Vallée’s film is nothing short of emotional. But the emotions cannot be ignored to being very manipulative, using scenes of loss and confusion to justify erratic behaviour of characters whose backstories are mostly absent to us. For one, Davis, we come to the understanding early, suffers from common emotional displays of affection and genuine love, yet, without spoiling the ending of the film, does offer many questions to the audiences. Why does he choose a path of destruction for answers? What are his obsessions with others? Why is he fascinated with certain people and not others? The film, which is suppose to be a very realistic, post-trauma film humanizing the loss and pain people feel during times of distress and disbelief, becomes a very segregated film about the pains and struggles about real people, living very real lives, doing very cinematically pleasing things. One of my biggest peeves with the film is showing too much about the stress and grief of Davis’ loss,and less with the understanding why he is like this, who he was before and what he was like when he was married.

Among his loss, Davis begins a courtship with a vending machine early on, well, maybe not with the machine itself, but with the people behind the operating and handling of the vending machine services. After a slew of personal letters that are suppose to help him express his emotions on paper, Davis begins writing personal complain letters to Champion Vending due to the lack of delivery of his M&M’s ten prior to his wife’s death.… Expand

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5

danielnitesApr 8, 2016

Demolition struggles desperately to find a cure for its cathartic impotence and lack of relatability through a dated protagonist who quickly realizes metaphors should almost always be taken literally.

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as DavisDemolition struggles desperately to find a cure for its cathartic impotence and lack of relatability through a dated protagonist who quickly realizes metaphors should almost always be taken literally.

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Davis Mitchell, a WASP investment banker with a very large and cold glass house (foreshadowing) whose life is disheveled when his wife dies tragically in a car crash. Like the great anhedonias of '90s cinema, he feels nothing until he discovers a possible grieving outlet, eschewing him from a big ol' vat of emptiness.

Davis finds himself writing a highly eloquent complaint to a vending machine company for not ejecting his favorite tasty treat. He then writes another with more detail and another with even more detail until lone customer service rep Karen (Naomi Watts) answers his cry. So, they strike up a type of relationship. She's a pothead and single mom with an angsty teenager named Chris (Judah Lewis). Watts' and Lewis' characters seem too secondary not only to the entire cast but also to the overall morale as Gyllenhaal's Davis bulldozes through the film's fabric, robbing the wrong people of the right moments. Not quite the spiritual successor to America Beauty but passable until the final act's three incredulous twists send it way off the beaten path.

Director Jean-Marc Vallée's sensibilities indicated a notable departure from Dallas Buyer's Club as he settles on a more casual approach on par with disposable American dramedies. Demolition adds itself to the assembly-line standard of cinematic interpretation by waiving its more complicated elements with gimmicky dream sequences and flashy flashbacks.

Vallée's lack of enthusiasm towards filmic innovation even for easy-going dramedy undoubtedly fans the flames of this deceptively optimistic attempt to humanize a semi-sociopathic reflection of bored white America. Of course, it's insanely unfair to rest the entire production on Vallée as Bryan Sipe's blunt by-the-numbers screenplay throws subtlety out of a Porsche as it constantly coerces unwarranted approval and, more importantly, identification from an unsuspecting audience.

Amidst the confusion, two beacons of light make their way through, not as story elements but as performances. Gyllenhaal delivers the same level of dedication seen in his previous roles particularly Nightcrawler while Chris Cooper is lightly underutilized as Phil, his strangely profound father-in-law/boss. Ultimately, Davis never really allows Gyllenhaal to come full circle as the character's lack of an organic arc impedes any desire of empathy on the part of audience.

Demolition's attendance depends completely your expectations and state of mind. If your life is not so dissimilar from that of Davis' or Phil's, you may find comfort. If not, it's still worth your criticism.

--FilmReviewWeekly… Expand

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5

TVJerryApr 13, 2016

In the first scene, Jake Gyllenhaal's wife is killed in an accident and he spends the rest of the movie in a closed-off reaction. This leads him to dismantling objects, eventually destroying his house. Much of his turmoil is outlined inIn the first scene, Jake Gyllenhaal's wife is killed in an accident and he spends the rest of the movie in a closed-off reaction. This leads him to dismantling objects, eventually destroying his house. Much of his turmoil is outlined in letters he writes to a vending machine company. This leads to a relationship with a mother (Naomi Watts) and her troubled son (Judah Lewis). So much of this narrative is in narration that it becomes an earnest exercise in self-indulgence. Gyllenhaal tears down a lot, but doesn't tear up much (work out that pun). Chris Cooper (as the father-in-law) and the kid create the most moving characters. Director Jean-Marc Vallée has crafted an interesting film on an intellectual level. However, the slow, repetitive and somewhat predictable story, as well as the frustrating detachment undermine the film's emotional resonance.… Expand

1 of 5 users found this helpful14

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6

Pablo6120Sep 29, 2016

Demolition (2015)
An odd little film from Director Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers’ Club, Wild) and screenwriter Bryan Sipe, Destruction does not deliver the intensity of Vallée’s aforementioned works. Shot like a semi-documentary,Demolition (2015)
An odd little film from Director Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers’ Club, Wild) and screenwriter Bryan Sipe, Destruction does not deliver the intensity of Vallée’s aforementioned works. Shot like a semi-documentary, Demolition follows the destructive psyche of the protagonist, Davis, as he recovers from the death of his wife from a car accident, from which he emerged unscathed.
Davis is an investment banker who works for his father-in-law, Phil (played by (Chis Cooper) and has been blissfully “mailing-in” his career, his marriage, living in a carefully coordinated life. After suffering a meltdown due to the loss of his beloved wife, Davis finds himself disenchanted. This is revealed by a yen to deconstruct everything that malfunctions: a refrigerator that leaks, a squeaky restroom door and a malfunctioning PC. This behavior nearly severs any relations with his highly disciplined father-in-law.
In a world of hurt, Davis seeks out solace in an elusive customer service rep, Karen, who has her own instabilities, exacerbated by a brutish boss/lover and a teenage son, Chris, who is having a sexual identity crisis. Davis’ platonic relationship with Karen leads to his concern for Chris, whose propensity for the “F word” and typical teen angst are mundanely confronted by Davis. Davis enlists Chris in his ultimate deconstruction project: his beautiful, but starkly efficient home.
After learning of his departed wife’s infidelities, he attempts regain Phil’s trust in creating a beautiful tribute to his deceased wife.
An interesting role for Jake Gyllenhaal, his portrayal of Davis starts out as almost robot-like and morphs into an unhinged, but likable maniac. Naomi Watts, as Karen, successfully displays a fragile, lost soul who gets from as much as she gives to Davis. Judah Lewis is a promising new-comer as son Chris.
As good as the performances were, I felt unsatisfied with the ending, especially since questions about Karen’s situation go unanswered.
Demolition is a continuation of Vallée’s fascination with dysfunctional characters, that is mildly entertaining, but appeared to be incomplete. Not for everyone, I give it a 6 out of 10; the excellent acting was the film’s strong point.… Expand

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6

badgerryan19May 19, 2017

Very strange film. Jake Gyllenhaal along side with Naomi Watts give great performances. Especially Gyllenhaal. The film was definitely interesting with occasionally funny moments/scenes. But it did have a lot of problems. Jake really plays aVery strange film. Jake Gyllenhaal along side with Naomi Watts give great performances. Especially Gyllenhaal. The film was definitely interesting with occasionally funny moments/scenes. But it did have a lot of problems. Jake really plays a psychotic well first "Nightcrawler" and now this.… Expand

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5

EpicLadySpongeApr 11, 2016

So technically, all of this was meant to happen just because our main character lost his wife in a tragically how-did-this-happen car crash? Give me a break...

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5

ourtimehascomeMar 19, 2017

Though I applaud the film's themes and overall production value, there are too many absurd moments which don't lead to a wortwhile payoff. It is well-acted and believable, but the plot believes it is more important than it really is.

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4

tethysdustJan 18, 2017

The acting was pretty good, but the story felt like it was treading water. Also, it was completely unoriginal and predictable. Ultimately, it didn't feel like it had much of a point.