Despite its title, Demolition is not the nickname of a new action hero or a flick about a construction site (although plenty of appliances and even a building or two are destroyed over the running time). Instead, this is a unique drama and character study about a man coping with a personal tragedy. It’s perhaps a bit too eccentric for its own good, but the performances are strong and the overall effect is reasonably compelling.
The movie hinges on the performance of its lead, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. It’s a challenging role that requires the actor to play a privileged and at times unlikable character, engaging in erratic behavior as he comes to terms with a tragedy. However, using deadpan humor and bluntness, the actor pulls it off and slowly garners sympathy, even as his actions become increasingly bizarre. The jokes should come across as callous, but they provide some relief to the heaviness and effectively emphasize his detachment from the world.
Gyllenhaal plays an investment banker named David Mitchell who loses his wife (Heather Lind) in a car accident. While her father Phil (Chris Cooper) and mother (Polly Draper) are completely devastated, David doesn’t feel much of anything. He can’t even work up tears and insists to himself that he didn’t really love her. Instead, he becomes fixated on a vending machine that took his money and decides to complain about it to the company in writing.
His letters become increasingly honest and confessional, gaining the attention of Karen (Naomi Watts), a customer service representative for the vending company. She’s unusual as well and begins to follow David, with the two eventually striking up a friendship. While the notes start the relationship, the movie soon changes focus to David’s coping mechanism. He becomes determined to literally tear apart his old life and begins to dismantle objects at home and at work, concerning others.
Of course, he doesn’t do anything to reconstruct them and his eccentricities only gain more prominence. Director Jean-Marc Vallée (Wild, Dallas Buyers Club, The Young Victoria) and the screenplay deal in shades of gray. All of the characters have complex issues and seem to cope with them in peculiar ways. David’s reaction is particularly extreme, but it’s interesting to watch him learn to both grieve and eventually process his strained martial relationship with newfound perspective.
The movie doesn’t offer easy solutions or tie up every loose end. That’s not a criticism and actually helps add to the realism. And the sound design stands out as a big positive, using varying volume levels on dialogue and music and emphasizing them as they come in and out of clarity, depending on the momentary mental state of the lead.
Admittedly, the downside is that the flawed lead character’s actions will continually frustrate some. Additionally, his cool disposition means that the big emotional resolution for the character ends up feeling muted and isn’t as affecting as one would hope for. In fact, for a film with such an unusual take on its subject the resolution is a little too generic. And as mentioned previously, the movie’s focus shifts considerably, which can be off-putting. Just when you think you know where things are going, the movie goes on a tangent in another direction.
It’s far from perfect, but Demolition is at the very least a unique and interesting movie that examines a family tragedy as well as the complications and strange emotional effects it can have on those left behind.