DEMOLITION
GALA D: Jean-Marc Vallée. USA. 100 min. Sep 10, 6:30 pm Princess Of Wales Sep 10, 8 pm Roy Thomson Hall Sep 11, noon Roy Thomson Hall. See listings. Rating: NNNN
A film about grief and self-destruction might not have been the best choice to open a big splashy festival, but don’t hold that against Demolition. After Dallas Buyers Club and Wild, Vallée’s deliberately unstable drama is another solid portrait of a character who finds a radical solution to a personal crisis.
In this case, it’s Davis Mitchell (Jake Gyllenhaal), a New York suit who starts disassembling things after losing his wife in an accident, starting small and expanding to larger and larger projects – a lamp, a fridge, a computer, his house.
Like Vallée’s 2011 knockout Café De Flore, the editing follows emotional beats rather than the plot, which might prove disorienting if you’re not paying attention – but if you find the movie’s rhythm, the experience is weirdly comic and strangely moving.