Demolition

"Life: Some disassembly required."

2016 1h 41m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 2,639

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An emotionally desperate investment banker finds hope through a woman he meets.

“Life: Some disassembly required.”

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Cast

Jake Gyllenhaal
Davis Mitchell
Naomi Watts
Karen Moreno
Chris Cooper
Phil Eastwood
Judah Lewis
Chris Moreno
C.J. Wilson
Carl
Polly Draper
Margot Eastwood
Malachy Cleary
Davis' Dad
Debra Monk
Davis' Mom

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Writers: Bryan Sipe
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 44% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 10 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, shot by Yves Bélanger. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jean-Marc Vallée shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts and Chris Cooper carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Life: Some disassembly required.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1172049 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jean-Marc Vallée directs. Yves Bélanger behind the camera. Jean-Marc Vallée cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 44% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 10 years ago.
3Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, shot by Yves Bélanger. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Jean-Marc Vallée shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts and Chris Cooper carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Life: Some disassembly required.".
7IMDB entry: tt1172049 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 23 themes, including "infidelity", "new york city", "loss of loved one", "pregnancy".

The technical file

Cinematography: Yves Bélanger
Editing: Jean-Marc Vallée
Production design: John Paino
Costume design: Leah Katznelson
Makeup / hair: Michelle Johnson
Sound: Gavin Fernandes
Stunt coordinator: Alex Terzieff
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $10,000,000
Box office: $4,366,460
Return: 44% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Demolition (2016)

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Jean-Marc Vallée

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-07-24
★ 7/10
When we won't feel a thing for a great loss... I am observing closely Jake Gyllenhaal's acting career and he's giving the best performances in all his films. He's one of top 5 best actor of our generation. So technically I love all his films, especially in the recent years and tell me who won't if they love good stories and performance. I expected this to be another excellent film and yes it was, but not that great. What he has given to his fans and film viewers is the promise and fulfilled it all the way. So even an average film can automatically become a better one. This film was based on the one of the blacklisted script, but Gyllenhaal's presence made all the difference along with the wonderful director. It was the story of a man who lost his wife in a car accident. His way of grieving is what the film narrates. He realises that he's not able feel a thing when everyone around does, so he decides to make search for the answers and so the bizarre journey begins. The casting was good, but it was all about the Gyllenhaal's role. I like Naomi Watts, but for the first time she looked old to me. And the others did not have much screenspace, except that new face boy who was decent. I think not everyone would enjoy it, it is a weird story of almost a weird person, so you would easily get it. You must need to be a patience, besides it is a dark comedy. You might wonder why the title was named 'Demolition', the films gives a strange demonstration for that in a good way. It is not like a must see, but totally worth for Gyllenhaal alone. I can't say it should have been better, because there's nothing to get better, everything was at its best. 7/10
tmdb280390232022-08-27
★ 5/10
Early on in Demolition there is a brief but interesting scene. Davis Mitchell (Jake Gyllenhaal) is looking in a mirror, crying the way bad actors do – i.e., contorting the face to compensate for the inability to produce tears. Gyllenhaal is of course far from a bad actor, and sure enough, Davis immediately regains his composure. Was he rehearsing? Quite possibly, especially when you consider that he seems more concerned with the faulty vending machine in the hospital hallway than the fact that his wife Julia (Heather Lind) has just died in a car accident. But Davis is not a heartless bastard; he simply finds it easier to depend on the kindness of strangers. For example, the letter he writes to the vending machine company, which quickly becomes a confessional epistle, and gives us a clue to his impassive reaction to Julia's death. In contrast, Davis is unable to relate to Phil Eastwood (Chris Cooper), Julia's father. As usual, Cooper delivers the goods, in particular an emotional speech about how there is no word – such as ‘orphan’ or ‘widower’ – to describe someone who has lost a child. Ironically, while we've been fascinated by Cooper's craft, Davis’s mind has been wandering, trying to discern why the drinks are so expensive at the restaurant where they're at, without taking the slightest notice of a single word his father-in-law has said. Meanwhile, the letters he will continue to write to the vending machine company customer service department become his main outlet. In a delightful plot twist, Karen Moreno (Naomi Watts), the company's only customer service rep, has been moved to tears by Davis's missives, and begins talking to him on the phone. Davis is certainly an intriguing character, and to develop him Gyllenhaal has borrowed from others as well as himself. Davis is outwardly a vain, aloof yuppie like Christian Bale in American Psycho – although instead of dismembering people, he takes apart machines, not bothering to put them back together again. At the same time, he undergoes an inner transformation that is a combination of Kevin Spacey's in American Beauty and Ron Livingston's in Office Space. Also, Davis becomes the opposite of Gyllenhaal's character in Moonlight Mile. Unfortunately, Demolition loses momentum in the second half, with director Jean-Marc Vallée putting the plot on autopilot. Davis and Karen's relationship is perfect when limited to letters and phone calls, but goes awry as soon as they meet in person. Additionally, and completely out of the clear blue sky, Davis is diagnosed with a rare medical condition that results in part of his heart being apparently eaten by “gypsy moths.” The hell?. All things considered, Demolition feels familiar, and we can recognize elements we've seen elsewhere, but while some of it is clichéd, the outside-the-box use of some of those familiar elements is in itself refreshing; furthermore, Gyllenhaal provides another stellar performance.