Review 507: The Two Faces of January
Based on the novel The Two Faces of January by Patricia Highsmith, In 1962, con man Chester MacFarland (Viggo Mortensen) and his wife Colette (Kirsten Dunst) tour Greece were they meet Rydal Keener (Oscar Isaac). Outwardly, a tour guide
Their friendship quickly takes a dangerous turn when it morphs into a love triangle rife with envy, obsession and murder.
There's an old fashioned, Hitchcockian feel to it
So much of what happens in the film goes on inside the characters heads. None of them appear to be who they say they are
Writer/Director Hossein Amini’s direction is confident & suspenseful, the score by Alberto Iglesias is beautiful the cinematography is gorgeous, capturing the scenic beauty of Greece, Crete & Turkey in the early 60s. The locations themselves are lush, vibrant and compliment the films story in
Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst and Oscar Isaac are fabulous in the roles. Mortensen and Dunst shine onscreen like a pair of classic film actors beautifully evoking the elegance of Bogart and Bergman. Chester MacFarland is a classic archetyple character who's had many names; he's a swindler who uses people for money and he and Colotte are on the lamb. When we're first introduced to MacFarland & Colette, they appear to just be a near do well couple on a holiday (or so we're told) but there's something about them which is slightly disreputable.
Writer/Director Hossein Amini’s direction is confident & suspenseful, the score by Alberto Iglesias is beautiful the cinematography is gorgeous, capturing the scenic beauty of Greece, Crete & Turkey in the early 60s. The locations themselves are lush, vibrant and compliment the films story in
Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst and Oscar Isaac are fabulous in the roles. Mortensen and Dunst shine onscreen like a pair of classic film actors beautifully evoking the elegance of Bogart and Bergman. Chester MacFarland is a classic archetyple character who's had many names; he's a swindler who uses people for money and he and Colotte are on the lamb. When we're first introduced to MacFarland & Colette, they appear to just be a near do well couple on a holiday (or so we're told) but there's something about them which is slightly disreputable.
We never quite know if Rydal's is standing by them for financial gain of if he's doing so because he thinks they're actually the kind of people that could get him the things that he wants when goes back to America. Or it could be that he's standing by them because he, in fact, has the hots for "Colette."
As far as Highsmith thrillers go, The Two Faces of January is de I enjoyed it for the most part. It didn't shake me up or reinvent the wheel necessarily but I enjoyed it as a five-finger mind game.
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