3 exhilarating-deception-filled-thrillers out of 4
There are few notions more terrifying to accept than the possibility that we don’t truly know the people around us. Beneath those stylish glasses, beyond that fashionable haircut, past that stunning dress, how well do we really know the people we pass by every day? Hossein Amini’s The Two Faces of January, a thriller also written by Amini and based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith, takes a relatively simple premise and twists it to its logical extreme. The final verdict: no one else matters if we can’t figure out who we are to ourselves.
Top billing goes to Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, and Oscar Isaac. There are other actors in this film, but they don’t matter. Other characters pass through each scene like a faded memory. Our chief conspirators reveal themselves to us through a haze of uncertainty and deception. The film begins by introducing us to Isaac’s character—Rydel, an American tour guide who scams tourists in Athens—mid-scam. He’s showing the ruins of the Acropolis to a group of attractive young women. He’s smooth and sophisticated—sensual and seductive—with the way he manoeuvers himself into the life of a young heiress. We later learn that the heiress is quite wealthy, and Amini’s script challenges us to question Rydel’s motivations. Did the young grifter know about the heiress’ wealth beforehand, or is he simply a young man in the throes of youth? It doesn’t matter—he knows now, and he’s already performing quite well for himself.
Rydel then makes the youthful mistake of becoming enamoured by Dunst’s Collette—the wife of Mortensen’s Chester. Something’s off about Collette and Chester; the way they’re framed, the way they’re introduced, and the way Alberto Iglesias’ score twangs off-centre hints at deeper treachery.
As a modern audience tuned to the nature of thrillers, we know to question everything that Chester says. As a modern audience aware of the fallibility of youth, we know not to trust Rydel alone in a room with Collette. Still, Amini teases his audience with slow reveals, eventually culminating in a brutal moment of passion. As an audience, we know to play along and act surprised.
This is Amini’s directorial debut, and his talent—and lack of experience—are evident. For lack of a better comparison, Amini’s film is stylistically similar to another adaptation of Highsmith’s work—The Talented Mr. Ripley. Much like in Anthony Minghella’s picture, Amini’s film takes place between the borders of Greece and Turkey, in that strange time between the Second World War and the height of the Cold War. Amini uses the warm yellows and browns of the Mediterranean setting to his advantage, juxtaposing cold animalism against the backdrop of an amiable culture. The effect is acceptable, but satisfying.
Amini’s film is thankfully low on the trappings of modern thrillers. The camera typically remains stationary, unless the shot calls for something handheld. Even during chases, Amini frames his film such that his audience is never confused as to the events onscreen.
It must be said that there is nothing wrong with The Two Faces of January, it’s just that there isn’t very much to it—other than yet another glaringly impressive performance by Oscar Isaac. Amini’s script reveals to us yet another world where suave men in expensive suits battle wits through layers of paranoia and delusion. Isaac’s performance, strongly aided by a face that is both immediately familiar and undeniably foreign, takes us through a relatively straightforward plot about a man, his mistakes, and the people he hurts along the way. There’s a brief subplot about a father that is given more import than it’s worth—such is a subplot that one must excuse.
In my score, I use the word exhilarating. If my review comes across as unimpressed –if my words stand in defiance of my rating—I apologize. Amini’s film is indicative of great potential that is, as of yet untapped in the directorial stream. Is Amini’s freshman directing effort indicative of current greatness? Absolutely not. Is it, however, indicative of a filmmaker who has an eye for staging, a knack for getting the most out of his performers, and skill bubbling under the surface? Absolutely.
I look forward to more of Amini’s films. If The Two Faces of January is any indication, his future works will surely please.