Through The Rear Window: Movie Review ... The Two Faces Of January

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Movie Review ... The Two Faces Of January

A skill of a good thriller is to instantly entice viewers. Slowly unfurling the mystery and danger characters face, their plight should maintain attention until the final denouncement. ‘The Two Faces of January’ does this with ease. Based on noted thriller writer Patricia Highsmith’s 1964 novel, her use of anti-heroes flouting the law is readily seen. Graced with sumptuous location filming in Greece and Turkey, ‘The Two Faces of January’ is a visual and emotional ride refusing to let go.

Visiting Greece in 1962, husband and wife Chester (Viggo Mortensen) and Colette MacFarland (Kirsten Dunst) enjoy the idyll. Whilst walking around Athens, they meet Rydal (Oscar Isaac) a tour guide carrying a few secrets. Striking a friendship, the couple invite him to their hotel. Upon arrival Rydal becomes involved in a chain of events forever changing the trio. Jealousy, deception and death plague them as each attempt to untangle themselves from a seemingly inescapable web of lies.

Encompassing nearly all of the seven deadly sins the characters in ‘The Two Faces of January’ run an emotional gamut. From one swift action, their moral code quickly becomes askew. Each has a lot to lose as they go on the run. Chester’s murky background hides his true motivations which affect Colette and Rydal’s chances at escaping from the situation. Enhanced by excellent performances you feel their character’s genuine desperation as the net slowly tightens.

Hossein Amini directs with a good eye for crafting true tension. Almost creating an Alfred Hitchcock-like atmosphere of skulduggery, Amini’s movie shares many similarities with Hitchcock’s directorial famed works. This is highlighted by the Bernard Herrmann’s-esque score effectively increasing the unease enveloping everyone. The brisk run-time aids in maintaining focus and ensuring the taut screenplay loses none of its power.

‘The Two Faces of January’ is a solid adult thriller made in a classic style. Much like the suspense movies which used to flood cinemas in the 1950’s, it does the job in capturing the essence of what made those films so popular.