Nocturnal Animals

With his follow-up to A Single Man fashion designer-turned-director created one of the most brutal, intelligent and nerve-jangling movies of the last decade. Based on Austin Wright's 1993 novel Tony and Susan, it is effectively two films in one, as bored art gallery owner Susan (Amy Adams) takes delivery of the debut novel - also called Nocturnal Animals - by her ex, Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal). As Susan reads, Ford takes us into her mind, imagining Edward as the story's hero: a mild-mannered, bookish husband who is forced into the role of avenging vigilante after his wife and daughter are kidnapped. Unusually for a film with two timelines, both are gripping, but in very different ways; when the fictional story plays out to its shocking end, Ford has us on tenterhooks to discover its real-world implications and, in particular, what's in store for Susan.