---
title: "Nocturnal Animals"
year: 2016
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/nocturnal-animals"
fi1m_score: 74
critics_score: 70
critics_reviews: 31
published: "2026-09-17T08:21:01.782259+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-17T08:21:02.272727+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Nocturnal Animals (2016)

Directed by Tom Ford · 1h 56m · MPA R · Drama, Thriller

**Fi1m score: 74** · Critics 70 from 31 reviews

*In a sentence:* An ex-husband’s novel is a fairly elaborate way of making sure the divorce isn’t the last word

> Tom Ford’s *Nocturnal Animals* is a gripping, cruel thriller with an excellent cast. The links between its stories grow too insistent, but the fear and the hurt are difficult to shake.

## Synopsis

In present-day Los Angeles, Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) reads a novel by her former husband, Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal). Its Texas story follows Tony Hastings (Jake Gyllenhaal) into a road encounter with Ray Marcus (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his companions. As that encounter becomes threatening, Susan’s reading draws her back towards her own past with Edward. She tries to reconcile the man she knew with the violent story in front of her, while her art-world surroundings offer little comfort. The film moves between her present, the earlier relationship and the novel, as the distance between Susan’s life and Tony’s predicament begins to shrink.

## Review

Tom Ford sets himself a difficult task in *Nocturnal Animals*: making us care about a woman reading and the people inside her book at the same time. The novel is by Susan Morrow’s former husband, so each turn of the page also returns her attention to their relationship. We recommend it as a thriller, with reservations about how firmly it tells us what to make of these people. Its nastiness is effective, and sometimes rather pleased with itself.

The Texas story supplies the fear, with Jake Gyllenhaal playing Tony Hastings and Aaron Taylor-Johnson making Ray Marcus an appallingly convincing threat. We were frightened by the road encounter because Ray’s presence makes even an ordinary exchange feel as though it could turn ugly without warning. Jake Gyllenhaal gives Tony’s vulnerability enough weight to keep the sequence from becoming a mere exercise in prolonging discomfort. Aaron Taylor-Johnson deserves particular credit for making the danger feel personal, even within the broad strokes of this violent tale.

Amy Adams has the harder job as Susan Morrow, whose reading must hold our attention alongside events with much more immediate force. Her performance makes room for uncertainty that the screenplay, also by Tom Ford, does not always allow. The scenes in Los Angeles work when we are watching her reckon with her past; the art-world satire is thinner, too quick to establish that the people around her are empty. That leaves her carrying emotional weight which the surrounding characters ought to share.

Seamus McGarvey’s photography gives Los Angeles and Texas enough distinction that moving between them is never confusing. Joan Sobel’s editing makes those passages feel natural, keeping Susan’s reading active rather than leaving it as an interruption to the Texas story. We become alert to correspondences between the strands without needing to stop and sort out where we are. The trouble comes when the connections grow so emphatic that there is little left for us to discover.

Shane Valentino’s production design helps make Susan’s art-world surroundings feel stifling, but the contempt for that life becomes too easy. The film gives us limited reason to value what she has, which weakens the interest in how she came to have it. Abel Korzeniowski’s music suits the scale of the melodrama, although its insistence can make the private unhappiness feel over-explained. The actors are persuasive enough to need less encouragement from everything around them.

Michael Shannon, as Bobby Andes, gives the Texas material a welcome firmness, and the film benefits from a supporting performance that can stand alongside its leads. This is recognisably pulp noir, and there is pleasure in its willingness to be lurid and unreasonable. The difficulty is the weight it asks that violence to carry when it connects it to Susan’s relationship with Edward Sheffield. The suggestion that a violent novel might change how someone thinks about a failed marriage is compelling; the film pushes it until the characters have little room to surprise us.

There is no need to solve every correspondence between Susan and the novel to get something from this film. We would let the actors complicate what the screenplay keeps trying to settle, and accept that some of its cruelties are more interesting than its explanations. Choose it for the suspense, provided everyone watching has an appetite for cruelty.

*Fi1m score 74, published 17 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics respond warmly to Nocturnal Animals, praising Tom Ford’s control of its interwoven stories and the tension of the violent thriller within them. The photography and carefully composed images draw broad approval, while Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal receive frequent praise for giving the material emotional weight. Michael Shannon and Aaron Taylor-Johnson also stand out across the reviews. Admirers find the shifts between polished interiors and threatening Texas landscapes gripping rather than merely decorative.

The spread is wide, however, and the main disagreement concerns how much the film has to say beneath its style. Even favourable reviews question the obvious symbolism, strained parallels and thin art-world satire. Some find a persuasive study of regret and vengeance; others find little psychological depth. Time Out objects to its cruelty and cynicism, while The Skinny identifies misogyny in its treatment of women. These dissenters challenge the film’s outlook, not simply its storytelling.

### Reviews we read (31)

- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (90/100, inferred): Superb second feature from the director, a pitch-black thriller with a gripping double-stranded narrative that makes you care about both stories equally. It combines melodrama with teasing sophistication and has a vodka-kick of pure malice. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/sep/02/nocturnal-animals-review-tom-ford-returns-with-wildly-gripping-revenge-tale)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (90/100, inferred): The critic praises Ford's assured direction and the film's seamless interweaving of three narrative strands into a gripping noir melodrama. Amy Adams's nuanced central performance and the impeccable ensemble are singled out as highlights of this stylish stunner. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/tom-fords-nocturnal-animals-venice-925339/)
- **Variety** (90/100, inferred): Tom Ford’s ambitious high-wire noir thriller draws lurid elements from pulp and noir with splendid performances from Adams and Gyllenhaal. It seizes and holds with its suspense and vision, leaving no doubt as to Ford’s fervor and originality as a director. [Read](https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/nocturnal-animals-review-venice-film-festival-amy-adams-1201850195/)
- **Evening Standard**, David Sexton (85/100, inferred): Tom Ford brilliantly converts the complex literary thriller into pure cinema with clarity, beauty of imagery and emotional ferocity. The Texas section rivals the Coen brothers at their best, with fine performances especially from Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Shannon. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/nocturnal-animals-film-review-the-nightmare-of-no-second-chances-a3387031.html)
- **The AV Club**, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky (B+): The critic commends the film's elegant postmodern layering of stories and its tight control compared to Ford's debut. Strong ensemble work, particularly Aaron Taylor-Johnson, is noted alongside the sensualist aesthetic approach. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/tom-ford-frames-stories-within-stories-in-the-postmoder-1798189659)
- **Financial Times**, Nigel Andrews (80/100, inferred): Designer turned director Tom Ford’s second movie is nightmarishly good and pretty damn good overall. At its best and most visceral it is more than the work of an apprentice or homage payer. [Read](https://www.ft.com/content/7e296e14-a1d3-11e6-aa83-bcb58d1d2193)
- **The i Paper**, Matthew Turner (★★★★): The stylish and sophisticated thriller skilfully blends fact and fiction to mesmerising effect. It features captivating performances from Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal, strong support from the cast, and a haunting atmosphere created by striking camerawork. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/nocturnal-animals-film-review-29189)
- **The Telegraph**, Robbie Collin (4/5): Elegantly ludicrous and ludicrously enjoyable new film from Tom Ford with a dual structure that is intoxicating, provocative and delicious. Adams gives a brittle resilience in regular exquisite close-ups. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/09/02/nocturnal-animals-review/)
- **Empire**, Will Lawrence (75/100, inferred): The critic praises Tom Ford's direction for its exquisite visuals and adept handling of the dual narratives, calling the transitions wonderfully adept. The cast is impressive and the film is seen as a masterfully formed piece of junk culture with an unapologetic pulp filling. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/nocturnal-animals-review/)
- **Slant Magazine**, Jesse Cataldo (3/4): The review notes the film's ambitious attempt to blend pulp thriller and melodrama while commenting on class and cultural divides. It praises striking moments that mix ugliness and artistry but faults a lack of focus that leaves it tantalizingly close to greatness. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/nocturnal-animals/)
- **IndieWire**, Ben Croll (70/100, inferred): The review highlights Ford's ambitious leap into more complex territory with a striking two-hander structure. It singles out the film's bold tonal shifts and strong performances for praise in this festival context. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/nocturnal-animals-review-tom-ford-amy-adams-1201722532/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (70/100, inferred): Tom Ford’s meta-thriller weaves three stories with an intensity of human feeling that cuts through its slick style. It delivers a corrosively beautiful cocktail of a thriller that balances visual command with emotional depth, though some parallels between narratives feel overplayed. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-nocturnal-animals-review-20161114-story.html)
- **Screen Daily** (70/100, inferred): The review praises Ford's stylish adaptation and effective thriller elements, noting it remains highly effective despite some over-statement. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/nocturnal-animals-venice-review/5109010.article)
- **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (70/100, inferred): The film is a harsh cautionary tale about love, vengeance and the divide between life and art. It explores how real people are turned into fictional characters and old hurts made into narrative grist, with smooth transitions between Susan’s story and the novel’s violent plot. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/18/movies/nocturnal-animals-review-amy-adams-jake-gyllenhaal.html)
- **The Times**, Kate Muir (★★★★☆): Tom Ford’s second movie is a psychological thriller that drives deep into violent redneck territory and is tense and stylish. It is about the revenge of the true artist on the greedy charlatan and of a spurned husband on his former wife. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/nocturnal-animals-wdx2vwzrc)
- **Sight and Sound**, Simran Hans (50/100, inferred): The critic finds the film mixed, praising its visual style and ability to capture the experience of reading but criticizing its inconsistent tone and lack of emotional depth in the thriller strand. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/nocturnal-animals-review-tom-ford-gets-his-junk)
- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (50/100, inferred): The film offers two stories for the price of one: Susan’s empty Los Angeles life and the violent Texas tale in her ex-husband’s novel. Neither section is especially compelling on its own—the L.A. lampoon feels thin while the Texas scenes are a stylized dream of violence. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/nocturnal-animals)
- **Film Comment**, Genevieve Yue (40/100, inferred): The critic finds Tom Ford’s second feature airless and inconclusive in exploring the relationship between life and art. It collapses under clichés and offers little insight despite moments of permeability between the nested narratives. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/review-nocturnal-animals-tom-ford/)
- **Time Out**, Dave Calhoun (30/100, inferred): The review criticizes the film for being cruel, cynical, and failing to explore psychological complexities, despite strong photography. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/nocturnal-animals)
- **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (A-): The critic praises the film as a haunting examination of characters trapped by their pasts and narratives, with standout performances especially from Amy Adams. Ford effectively turns a revenge story into a reflection on regret and bitterness. [Read](https://collider.com/nocturnal-animals-review/)
- **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (80/100, inferred): The critic finds Tom Ford's second feature a worthy follow-up to his debut, proving it was no fluke with its stylish mix of genres and strong performances. He singles out the excellent acting across the board, particularly Michael Shannon and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. [Read](https://deadline.com/2016/11/nocturnal-animals-review-amy-adams-jake-gyllenhaal-tom-ford-hitchcockian-thriller-1201854334/)
- **Den of Geek**, Elizabeth Donoghue (4/5): The critic praises the film as engrossing and stylish, with strong performances especially from Jake Gyllenhaal and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the harrowing central sequences. It is an assault on the senses that ultimately earns her affection despite some unsubtle symbolism. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/nocturnal-animals-review/)
- **The Wrap** (80/100, inferred): The critic concludes that Ford gambles big with his sophomore effort and wins, successfully melding two very different narrative threads into a film that packs a real punch. He singles out Aaron Taylor-Johnson's standout creepy performance as the ringleader in the novel-within-the-film sequences. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/nocturnal-animals-review/)
- **The Playlist**, Jessica Kiang (B): The film is a feast for the eyes and highly enjoyable as a bifurcated meta-story and gritty pulp thriller-within-a-thriller, especially thanks to Michael Shannon, but Ford's attempt to add depth and consequence falls short and leaves the whole feeling inconsequential. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/tom-fords-nocturnal-animals-slinky-surprising-little-silly-venice-review-20160902/)
- **HeyUGuys**, Jo-Ann Titmarsh (75/100, inferred): The film is a finely crafted, visually sumptuous tale of loss and revenge that blends Susan's present-day life with her ex-husband's novel. It features strong performances, especially from Michael Shannon, and appeals to a broader audience than Ford's debut despite some predictability in the story-within-a-story. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/nocturnal-animals-review/)
- **/Film**, Angie Han (7/10): There's much to admire in the beautifully braided dual narratives and strong performances from Adams and Gyllenhaal, along with Ford's precise and lovely visuals. However, the film aims for profundity on themes of vengeance and love but falls short, feeling pretty but hollow. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/546505/nocturnal-animals-review/)
- **NME**, Nick Levine (4): The critic calls it a gripping and remarkably accomplished piece of storytelling that keeps its competing narratives streamlined. Amy Adams anchors the film with a sensitive performance, though a provocative opening sequence jars slightly. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/nocturnal-animals-film-review-1820042)
- **Paste**, Brogan Morris (8.0): Ford delivers a stylish yet substantial thriller that explores toxic masculinity and personal anxieties through dual narratives, with gripping pulp sequences contrasting the hollow real world. It’s a personal, haunting film despite some overstuffing. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/nocturnal-animals/nocturnal-animals)
- **Eye for Film**, Owen Van Spall (60/100, inferred): Ford's stylish revenge thriller looks gorgeous but over-eggs the satirical tone in Susan's art-world scenes, creating an unsettling study of bitter people hurting each other through fiction. The gripping inner thriller strand, elevated by Michael Shannon, contrasts with the more pulpy and manipulative outer narrative. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/nocturnal-animals-2016-film-review-by-owen-van-spall)
- **The Ringer**, K. Austin Collins (40/100, inferred): The film falters in reaching for deeper insight beyond style, which Ford excels at but ultimately isn't enough, as it highlights the hollowness of its characters and the director's own preoccupations. Strong details like hair and wardrobe provide sociological insight into the characters. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2016/11/21/movies/tom-ford-nocturnal-animals-review-f2b276e6681e)
- **The Skinny**, Rachel Ashenden (★★): The critic finds the film gorgeous but ultimately troubled by ugly misogyny that surfaces in its allegory of rape and murder. While it captures the escapism of reading effectively, the denouement reduces it to a conservative morality tale. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/nocturnal-animals)

## Details

- **Director:** Tom Ford
- **Director:** Tom Ford
- **Screenplay:** Tom Ford
- **Novel:** Austin Wright
- **Cinematography:** Seamus McGarvey
- **Editor:** Joan Sobel
- **Music:** Abel Korzeniowski
- **Production design:** Shane Valentino
- **Costume design:** Arianne Phillips
- **Producer:** Robert Salerno, Tom Ford
- **Cast:** Amy Adams as Susan Morrow; Jake Gyllenhaal as Tony Hastings / Edward Sheffield; Michael Shannon as Bobby Andes; Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Ray Marcus; Isla Fisher as Laura Hastings; Ellie Bamber as India Hastings; Armie Hammer as Hutton Morrow; Karl Glusman as Lou
- **Runtime:** 1h 56m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 9 December 2016
- **Genres:** Drama, Thriller
- **Budget:** $22 million
- **Box office:** $29 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI45fDplBpw

## Where to watch in the US

- Peacock: streaming, hd, leaving 2026-10-01
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd, leaving 2026-10-01
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy $12.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $12.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-17.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2017: Best Supporting Actor (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *In a Lonely Place* (1950): Another writer whose wounded pride makes intimacy feel dangerous, with sharper characterisation.
- *Caché* (2005), Fi1m 88: Domestic comfort becomes intolerable under scrutiny in a more restrained, troubling thriller. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/cache.md)
- *The Secret in Their Eyes* (2009), Fi1m 78: Crime, frustrated love and persistent memory meet in a more expansive melodrama. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-secret-in-their-eyes.md)
- *Burning* (2018), Fi1m 72: Class resentment and uncertain storytelling feed a slower, equally disquieting mystery. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/mississippi-burning.md)
- *Swimming Pool* (2003): A writer’s imagination complicates an uneasy encounter, with room left for doubt.

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/nocturnal-animals