Seeing Jake Gyllenhaal in tears on the big screen over the loss of a loved one is nothing new.
Just earlier this year in "Southpaw" he played a boxer who must start his life over after his wife dies.
But with the actor's newest film, "Demolition," which was the opening night movie at the Toronto International Film Festival, Gyllenhaal handles grief in a much different way.
In the film he plays Davis Mitchell, an investment banker who is going through the motions of his work and his marriage. But suddenly he and his wife get into a car accident and his wife dies.
That's when things get strange.
It all starts with a vending machine.
Still in the hospital after getting the news of his wife's death from his father-in-law (played by Chris Cooper), who is also his boss, Davis walks to a vending machine to get peanut M&Ms. The candy gets stuck in the machine making him unable to retrieve it. Inquiring about the machine he learns that he has to send his complaint to the manufacturer, Champion Vending Company.
Most of us would forget about the M&Ms and move on to bigger things, like funeral arrangements.
Not Davis.
In the middle of the wake, he goes in the other room and begins to write a letter to Champion. But this letter goes beyond his grievance and basically gives us the backstory of his life and why he is relieved that his wife his dead.
Believe it or not the movie is a comedy, a dark one, but you can't help but laugh at the things that transpire.
For one thing, Davis begins to get stalked by Karen (Naomi Watts) the customer service rep at Champion who has been reading Davis' letters (yes, he writes more than that one) and they quickly start a relationship.
Then there's Davis' fascination with dismantling things. Realizing he has a tool set he's never opened, he begins using it around the house.
Like, completely taking apart his refrigerator after being annoyed that it leaks (his wife told him constantly, but he never paid attention). That then leads to him dismantling things at work (his computer, a bathroom stall door that squeaks), and eventually turning in his trailed suits for construction clothes and paying a contractor to let him demolish houses.
The film, directed by Jean-Marc Vallée ("Wild,""Dallas Buyers Club") is a fascinated examination of how people deal with grief differently. Though on the outside Davis looks to now be liberated after the death of his wife (and in some ways he is), this "noticing" of the world makes him understand better what he had with his wife and how it's gone forever.
But to get there Vallée uses a dark comedic tone that Gyllenhaal excels at but might be hard for audiences to grab onto.
What really brings the film home is the relationship Davis builds with Karen's son, Chris (by newcomer Judah Lewis). Their bond proves that Davis is not made of stone and can care for someone. Though, he might have to had gone on this journey to fully realize it.
It's hard to question the choices of roles Gyllenhaal has done within the last decade. With such diversity and all-out effort in the parts, there aren't many other actors giving us such range.
Next up, we'll see him attack Mt. Everest in "Everest" Sept. 25.
Sadly, Fox Searchlight won't be releasing "Demolition" in theaters until April 8, 2016. So for now, you will just have to watch the trailer:
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