Tonally dark, visually lush & emotionally raw, Nocturnal Animals features director Tom Ford at his most potent as filmmaker and storyteller, with this two-tier tale of revenge one that leaves an undeniable impression.

Revenge is a deep well of a subject that many a filmmaker has drawn from throughout the history of cinema. Yet the concept of revenge goes even beyond that. Look to the Old Testament, where in the Book of Exodus the phrase “eye for an eye” was written. Centuries later 17th century Christian poet George Herbert famously wrote “living well is the best revenge”. The concept of revenge is effectively used in Nocturnal Animals, a psychological thriller based on Austin Wright’s acclaimed novel “Tony and Susan.”

The film stars Amy Adams as Suzanne Murrow, a renowned art gallery owner whose career has hit a creative dead end, and whose marriage to handsome heart surgeon Hutton (Armie Hammer) is falling apart. When Suzanne receives a manuscript for a novel penned by her estranged ex-husband Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal), she is thrust into a dark and raw revenge tale about peaceful family man Tony Hastings (also Gyllenhaal), who is powerless to stop a group of thugs led by the psychotic Ray Marcus (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) from abducting his wife (Isla Fisher) and daughter (Ellie Bamber). Later informed by local police detective Bobby Andes (Michael Shannon) that his wife and daughter were raped and murdered, Tony embarks on a quest for revenge.

To say that Nocturnal Animals is a distressing film would be an understatement. Yet its uncomfortable, intense elements is part and parcel of a wholly engrossing story that delves into primal emotions – anger, heartbreak, sadness – and asks its viewers to reply in kind. This is especially felt within the fictional world of Tony’s journey of revenge and self-loathing, which in Ford’s hands is the highest grade of psychological thriller, a nightmarish exploration into darkness and manhood gone awry in constant conflict with the bruised yellow desert Texan landscapes in which it is set.

It is in this section where the films best performances are found in Michael Shannon’s clenched jawed detective with nothing to lose, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s frightening psycho killer. Both actors bring a mesmerising intensity to their roles, and in every way are the perfect supporting accompaniment to the leading narrative of a love story gone awry in the depths of bitterness, ego and treachery. Adams and Gyllenhaal have both delivered a string of impressive performances of late, and Nocturnal Animals continues that streak with turns filled with fragile emotional complexity.

The technical aspects of Nocturnal Animals are of the highest grade. Cinematography from Seamus McGarvey (Life) captures the varying shifts of environment and atmosphere between the two worlds within this one story, and the editing from Joan Sobel (A Single Man) establishes a keen pace and flow between the back and forth of the dual narratives.

Yet this is a Tom Ford piece through and through, and with his second feature film the acclaimed fashion designer has established himself as a filmmaker of the highest quality. Revenge never looked as good, nor felt as intense, as it does in Ford’s capable hands.