An L.A. art gallery owner who's beautiful, affluent and seemingly successful is surprised to find herself miserable, disillusioned and unfulfilled. Intriguingly, about this time, she receives the manuscript of her ex-husband's debut novel and when she reads it and recognises its metaphorical nature, becomes consumed by feelings of guilt, regret and the desire to meet up again with the man who was her first crush.

Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) and Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal) had fallen in love as students in New York and the idealistic couple later married despite the opposition of Susan's mother who considered Edward to be unsuitable because he lacked the necessary ambition and drive to be a good provider. Susan, at this time, detested her mother's preoccupation with materialism but later in the marriage, became frustrated at Edward's lack of success as a novelist and broke up their relationship because she considered him to be too weak and not a very good writer.

Edward's novel is a revenge thriller about a family of three who are driving along a West Texas highway at night when they get terrorized by a gang of vicious thugs, two of whom, kidnap Tony Hastings' (Jake Gyllenhaal) wife Laura (Isla Fisher) and teenage daughter India (Ellie Bamber),while the third gang member takes Tony to a remote spot in the desert where he leaves him stranded. Later, local detective Bobby Andes (Michael Shannon) is assigned to the case and together the two men eventually discover the bodies of Laura and India who had both been raped and murdered. Tony, who is portrayed as a rather weak man, becomes obsessed with the need to wreak vengeance on all the gang members and with Andes' assistance, does so very effectively.

As she's reading, Susan reflects on the cruel way in which she ended her first marriage by cheating on Edward and secretly having an abortion when she was carrying his child. She also recalls him saying that "when you love someone, you work it out. Don't just throw it away. You have to be careful with it. You may never get it again". In the years since their divorce, she has learned that those words were true and that her choice of opting for materialism over love was misguided. She also recalls him saying, after she'd been denigrating his work, that "nobody writes about anything but themselves". This makes his story about a man who was driven to revenge following the loss of the woman and child that he loved even more poignant and moves her to respond positively to his suggestion that they meet up to discuss his book. This reconciliation, however, doesn't materialise in the way that she had expected it might.

Based on Austin Wright's 1993 novel "Tony and Susan", this absorbing psychological drama is incredibly stylish, well paced and a visual treat. The ways in which the action slips back and forth between different periods of Susan's relationship with Edward and the events described in his novel are also masterfully done so that the coherence of the whole story and its natural momentum are beautifully maintained throughout.

The entire production is well acted with Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal faultless in their lead roles and Michael Shannon and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (as the leader of the thugs in Edward's book) providing very strong supporting performances. There's also a wonderful cameo featuring Laura Linney as Susan's mother which makes an incredible impact, especially considering its very short duration.

Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) is an avant-garde art gallery owner. Her marriage to Hutton Morrow (Armie Hammer) is deteriorating. She receives a manuscript entitled "Nocturnal Animals" from her ex-husband Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal) dedicated to her. It's a story of Tony Hastings (Gyllenhaal) driving at night in the middle of nowhere with his wife Laura (Isla Fisher) and their daughter India (Ellie Bamber). They get run off the road by another car. It begins a nightmarish ordeal. Tony escapes without his family. Local police Bobby Andes (Michael Shannon) investigates and zeroes in on Ray Marcus (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).

The problem with the story within the story is that the intensity is lost. It can't be real in the story telling sense and any tension is limited by that speed restriction. Otherwise, that inner story would make a nice tense neo-western. The outer shell story would benefit by skimming the inner story. It would concentrate the mind and make this a story about a marriage. Tom Ford creates a very beautiful looking movie. The overall structure needs some rethinking. There is a philosophical debate to be had. I also thought Isla Fisher was Amy Adams at first. It would actually be interesting to see Amy play both roles making her see herself in his book. While Ford has a great eye for beauty, there are story telling decisions that are questionable.

I'm giving this rating because it is more important to me that a director try something new than fall back on clichés. As is usually the case with "something new" there are going to be fits and starts and not everything works. The attempt was to show us the nocturnal animals. In the case of the novel, they are predatory, redneck men who single out a family in a car, heading for a vacation house. The threat is heavy and palpable, and we know that when they try to "help," they are doing so to get what they want. Jake Gyllenhaal's character would like to believe that they will have their fun and then back off. We know that's not going to happen. The desolation of the desert and the fabric of the Western setting also tell us that lawlessness can pretty much call the shots. The sheriff, dying of lung cancer, becomes pivotal. He is desperate and has been mistreated during his time as a lawman. He's willing to go all out, but Gyllenhaal has no plan of his own. Meanwhile, we are focused on artist, Amy Adams, who is living the angst of one who never seems to quite make it and who is in a loveless marriage. Her handsome guy is always away on business and sleeps around with little effort to hide things. She is a nocturnal animal, in that nighttime is endless. When her ex-husband (Gyllenhaal--in the flesh--not the victimized father) emerges after nineteen years, they hook up. But his hesitation and vacillating are still things that turn her off. But the book--the book--is captivating to her. She starts to see him as more than he is. He also needs her love and approval. She has hoped not to be seen as a dilettante her whole career, but may be headed down the road to emptiness. This is a really interesting film, even if at times it slips.