Demolition's reviews
Media reviews
Hitfix
This sort of storyline could go wrong very quickly, but thanks to some fortuitously funny moments, Vallee?s assured direction and Gyllenhaal?s spectacular performance it?s surprisingly compelling. And, let?s be absolutely clear: it?s Gyllenhaal who keeps it all together.
El País
Interesting film, full of formal details, magnificent almost at all times. (...) Guided by a magnificent Jake Gyllenhaal.
The Hollywood Reporter
It's a unique take on what could otherwise be a morbidly depressing tale of loss and grief, dishing out tons of energy and spats of devilish humor, though not always fitting its numerous parts into a succinct whole.
Variety
Gyllenhaal grounds Davis' wildly unraveling psyche, finding both the humor and heart in a man who admits to having spent the past 10 to 12 years incapable of feeling.
Cinemanía
Flee from soap operas drama and TV-Movies style (...) It's a nod to the confusion that generates life and a tribute to the blows that take us out of it.
The Wrap
'Demolition' strikes a tricky balance; it?s a comedy of manners that never judges its hero?s bizarre behavior. (...) But even its ultimate flaws can?t erode its sturdy foundation.
Indiewire
'Demolition' spends its goodwill early on, eventually giving itself over to cheap-feeling twists and a problematic final act.
Cinemanía
Vallée is more pretentious than ever, and very obvious, but in return gets Gyllenhaal one of his most natural interpretations that we have ever seen. And it's much appreciated.
The Washington Post
The oddball grief drama 'Demolition' proves that an actor who could easily be dismissed as just another watchable face is actually possessed of subtle, fascinatingly protean chops.
New York Post
'Demolition', written by Bryan Sipe is, like director Jean-Marc Vallée?s previous films 'Wild' and 'Dallas Buyers Club', a tale of interior repair sought through obsessive and near-penitential acts, but it?s stranger and at times more interesting than those other two.
El Mundo
The effort to domesticate the gesture of the protagonist (remarkable Jake Gyllenhaal) (...) makes the movie rush too soon for too many places transited (...).
ABC
The film is so labyrinthine that nothing would have made sense without the prodigious interpretation of Jake Gyllenhaal. (...) He is who gives meaning to a film complicated and difficult. (...).
Fotogramas
Confessional history that loses by the way of its attachment to the drama that point of distancing sometimes even sarcastic how well he sat Vallée before.
Entertainment Weekly
Jake Gyllenhaal?s wild-card performance is the only reason to bother with 'Dallas Buyers Club' director Jean-Marc Vallée?s manipulative downer.
Roger Ebert
Vallée directs with no small amount of verve and energy, as if he genuinely believes he can bring something new to this particular table.
The Guardian
A frustratingly aimless soul-search that veers uncomfortably between quirk and melancholy.
New York Times
Mr. Gyllenhaal?s strong performance still doesn?t add enough substance to a film that is hollow at the center. It?s mostly the fault of Mr. Sipe, who seems to believe that saying nothing is saying something.
The Playlist
The film's attempted cathartic payoff is inauthentic and unearned, and it's a shame considering that Gyllenhaal once again gives a committed turn.
Festival Internacional de Cine de Lanzarote