On the Athenian tourist trail circa 1962, Rydal (Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis) sweeps foreign visitors through the scenic sights, earning their tips and extricating extra cash however he can. As he works his magic with the young and naïve Lauren (Daisy Bevan, The Affair of the Necklace), he catches the interest of a holidaying couple – the stately Chester MacFarland (Viggo Mortensen, Everybody Has a Plan) and his younger wife Colette (Kirsten Dunst, Bachelorette). Mutual caution swiftly sparks fascination, and the trio become tentative acquaintances. Just as swiftly, Chester’s misdeeds see the three weaving their way through a minefield of trouble amid the underside of Greece.
There’s ample duplicity afoot in The Two Faces of January, but not just of the obvious kind, with both Hossein Amini’s script and the Patricia Highsmith novel on which it is based bewitched by multiple layers of scheming and gameplay. Rydal’s petty scams of pretty girls and penchant for prising favourable terms out of market traders pales in comparison to the secrets beneath the surface of his new friends’ shining facades, as a web of deceit and deviousness slowly unravels.
To his now ten-strong resume of screenplays that includes the applauded Drive and much less lauded Snow White and the Huntsman and 47 Ronin, writer/director Amini adds his first feature helming credit, thankfully following in the footsteps of his efforts in the former, not the latter, category. His darker sensibilities thrive in his interpretation of the story, in stark contrast to the warmth and brightness that ripples through every picturesque frame. In feature’s many shadows, the two opposing contrasts meet.
The Two Faces of January is couched in shades, not just of grey, but of the luxurious golden palette on display – and of the characters’ morality as well. It is a blatant visual manifestation of the thematic complexity, for certain, but it works well with Amini’s stylish guidance and Marcel Zyskind’s (Everyday) sumptuous cinematography. Lingering close-ups, particularly of Isaac’s photogenic face, are shrouded in murkiness that intimates the mystery and mischievous seething within. Each shot also increases the sense of claustrophobia that mounts as the troika spend too much time together in close quarters, their own shadows lengthening and overlapping.
That Amini’s cinematic vision of Highsmith’s book resembles one of the most famous page-to-screen adaptations of her efforts, The Talented Mr Ripley, is at once unsurprising and aptly suited. In narrative, the parallels are there in print, from the superficialities of Americans overseas and the scenic setting to the intricacy of uncertain allegiances; in execution, the filmmaker channels the same slightly sinister tone as he sifts through the pervasive paranoia that fuels the feature’s sombre thrills. The timing and locale may differ, but the two films belong on the same canvass.
As much delight springs from watching the three leads circle around each other as it does from the feature’s assured aesthetic construction, with each in excellent form. As he has proved time and again now, Isaac does tortured with toughness as well as touching delicacy, while Dunst relishes the maturity of her trapped-in-the-middle part. The sight of Mortensen slowly unravelling from suave to crumpled is a treat emboldened by his strong rapport with his co-stars. In performance as much as presentation, The Two Faces of January is a sun-dappled neo-noir to savour.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The Two Faces of January
Director: Hossein Amini
UK / USA / France, 2014, 96 mins
Sydney Film Festival
www.sff.org.au
4 – 15 June
General release date: June 19
Distributor: StudioCanal
Rated: M
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