Demolition

Who knows where his displaced emotions will take him? Who cares?

Demolition is a cinematic deconstruction of expectation and cliché, all of which results in a moving marvel of self-actualization I think I just might be in love with.

The story of a bereaved man who starts to dismantle household appliances and, later, buildings, the whole movie is a laboured metaphor: we get it, he's falling apart.

The film is utterly annihilated by its stylistic contrivance and ludicrous self-importance

A moving account of how the process of grief can take on strange forms.

Gyllenhaal continues his post-Nightcrawler upgrade with another vivid performance in the key of strange.

It benefits from a credible performance by Jake Gyllenhaal, but the drama often remains situated in a demolition zone that slowly destroys, with each iteration, the potential of its premise about grief and redemption. [Full review in Spanish]

A frustrating experience. There is a lot to appreciate about this film and it had massive potential, but like Dallas Buyer Club, Vallée wasn’t exactly sure where to take the film and it shows.

Neatly tied resolutions and dime-a-dozen aphorisms feel as fleeting and immaterial as a television drama, while any lasting impression must be hard-fought and pried from between the lines of the script.

At times unpredictable and funny, Vallée's few inspired flourishes fall short of transcending the story's obviousness and sudden ending, despite a strong central performance by Jake Gyllenhaal.