It’s always interesting sitting down for a film you know nothing about. You suspect it’s unlikely to be good because you haven’t heard anything but sometimes you can be pleasantly surprised, as was the case with The Two Faces of January. Starring Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Viggo Mortensen (A History of Violence) and Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia), the film is adapted from the Patricia Highsmith novel by Hossein Amini (The Wings of the Dove, Drive) who also makes his directorial debut here.
THE MOVIE American expat Rydal (Isaac) works as a tour guide in 1960s Greece, conducting small scale scams to earn a little extra money. He encounters wealthy American tourists Chester (Mortensen) and his young wife Colette (Dunst). His intention to steal from them takes a back seat to his affections for Collette as he befriends the pair. Chester has his own shadowy past which catches up to him, leading to a murder at his hotel, one which Rydal finds himself caught up in. Before long the trio find themselves avoiding the authorities while trying to find their way back to the US.
The Two Faces of January definitely has the feel of a throwback, a self-aware piece that even mentions Hitchcock on the promotional literature. A noir set in sunny Greece, it felt like that famed director took charge of an episode of Mad Men. The plot twists and turns while throughout the two men vie for the upper hand to assert themselves as alpha male, for their own interests as well as those of Colette, the blissfully ignorant girl stuck in the middle of these games. These men are equally dangerous and she is oblivious to it until its too late. There is an elegance and polish to the storytelling but it is definitely a case of style over substance. As a result we have a film that is a long simmer, but never reaches a boil.
Isaac solidifies what a presence he is in cinema these days while Mortensen shows off a psychological complexity and charts the descent of Chester into murky moral territory well. The conflict between the two men being the better executed part of the love triangle. Dunst is… adequate, but feels a tad lightweight. She neither nails the initial naivety and sweetness of her character nor the latter more unhinged behavior. The intended spark between her and Isaac’s character again never really becomes apparent even though it is what sets much of the events of the film in motion.
The score from Alberto Iglesias helps reinforce that old school feel and Amini’s directorial debut is certainly accomplished, both technically proficient and sumptuous to look at on occasion. The flaws in the film stem from an underdeveloped script. Having never read the original Patricia Highsmith novel (who also penned The Talented Mr Ripley) I cannot comment whether this is something that was lost in translation but the film certainly has time to allow better fleshing out of the characters and their relationships than is presented. It’s a pretty engrossing journey you are taken on but you are left feeling it could have been better developed.
THE PACKAGEThe film looks pretty sumptuous and the quality of the transfer really shows it off. Colors are vibrant and deep, details are sharp and no artifacts were visible.
Special features include a number of deleted scenes (one touching on Greek mythology that would have gone a long way to helping flesh out Mortensen’s character) and, at odds with the moody nature of the feature, a blooper reel. Your traditional trailer is accompanied by three featurettes. Traveling in Style looks at costume design, Shooting the Odyssey on locations and A Twist on the Classic Thriller focuses on the adaptation of the source material. Overall, a solid and diverse set of features to complement the film.
THE BOTTOM LINEThe Two Faces of January is a film that feels like a throwback to a bygone age with an engaging plot, solid cast and stunning cinematography. It’s a stylish affair that on the surface feels like a classic, but looking deeper and it is a little hollow, especially in terms of character development. Surprisingly good, but not as good as it thinks it is.
The Two Faces of January is available from January 13th on Blu-ray. A link to purchase via Amazon is below.