Although written and directed by Dan Gilroy, this was no Nightcrawler. A satirical horror-comedy about the art world that lacked bite and coherence. It should have either leaned into the camp or the horror or the intellectual wit, but instead Gilroy wavered between all three realms and ended up with a film that had something to say but only managed to just whisper it out.
The concept was great but there not really new; although at least it was set in an interesting subject field. The opening scene easily established the characters and the film's deceit, but it never lived up to its potential both in terms of plot and character development. Imagine Nocturnal Animals meet Scary Movie meet Thank You for Smoking
This was an ace cast with Jake Gyllenhaal re-teaming up with Gilroy and his performance bore some similarities to the haunted reporter from Nightcrawler. But unfortunately, other than a deliciously campy performance in the first act, he was never developed as a character...or even a caricature.
Rene Russo played the relatively straight character and again, like Gyllenhaal, she was just faintly outlined with no sense of purpose or agency.
Toni Collette was a hoot and she had great chemistry with Gyllenhaal. Although she was definitely way better in the fantastic Hereditary.
Zawe Ashton was a discovery. She has an engaging presence but this film may not have been the best showcase for her. Although it will likely open up doors for her, and it will be exciting to see what else she does.
Billy Magnussen, Daveed Diggs, John Malkovich, Natalie Dyer and Tom Sturridge also co-starred with each getting some focused screen time. Malkovich was a delight and Dyer, surprisingly, had the most interesting character-arc. Although, if Gilroy was trying to say something about her character, he was very subtle about it.
This was an entertaining-enough film that is suitable for Netflix-watching, i.e. at home and with distractions (Roma it ain't).
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