The Talented Mr. Mortensen

The Two Faces of January

Novelist Patricia Highsmith had a very successful writing career. Known mainly for her crime fiction and psychological thrillers, Highsmith has had many of her novels adapted for the movies. Starting with her first novel, Alfred Hitchcock brought Strangers on the Train to theatres and that became one of his best films. More recently, director Anthony Minghella helped launch the career of a young Matt Damon with The Talented Mr. Ripley. Last year another one of Highsmith’s books graced the big screen, The Two Faces of January.

Small time American con man Rydal (Oscar Isaac) is living the sweet life in beautiful Athens, Greece. Conning American tourists out of insignificant amounts of money as a tour guide and all the while stealing the hearts of young ladies along the way. Though, Rydal’s life is going to be turned upside down when he meets Chester (Viggo Mortensen The Lord of the Rings) and Colette MacFarland (Kirsten Dunst Melancholia), a well-to-do looking couple just touring Greece. What Rydal doesn’t know is that Chester is a bit of a con man himself and is on the run with his wife from some very angry people in New York. The three lives come crashing together when a private detective has tracked down the MacFarland’s and is accidentally killed in their hotel bathroom. While trying to move the body to the detective’s own room, Chester is noticed by Rydal in which Rydal is asked to help move the body. Unknowingly helping the fugitive couple purchase counterfeit passports and escape to the Greek Islands, Rydal slowly becomes an accessory to murder and must find a way out of the clutches of Chester MacFarland.

Want a good ol’ fashioned Hitchcock-like thriller? Then look no further.  The Two Faces of January is a small film that I wish would have gotten some more notice due to how well-crafted this movie is and the excellent cast. I really enjoyed being immersed into a classic feeling thriller and being on the edge with just the film playing with my mind. After seeing this film, I am interested to actually read Patricia Highsmith’s novels now.

As impressed I was with the three leads, I can say that Kirsten Dunst was my least favorite of the trio. This is not a knock to her acting in this film, it is just that she seemed to be a very one dimensional character. Obviously following her husband due to fear, but Dunst looked very detached. Maybe this is supposed to be and I didn’t pick up on it. Oscar Isaac, on the other hand, gave a terrific performance as Rydal. I loved how Isaac slowly starts to realize that he may be the one being conned during the film. Though, my hat is off to Mortensen and his acting in this film. Mortensen allows himself to become more and more paranoid as the film goes on and beautifully shows his jealousy of Isaac’s character. Mortensen is an extremely underrated actor and this movie proves it once again.

The Two Faces of January is the directorial debut of Hossein Amini, an accomplished screenwriter with credits that include The Wings of the Dove, KIllshot, and Drive. Amini is another first time director to keep a close eye on as he was able to create a wonderfully tense tone to this rather straight forward thriller. Amini provides an amazing script that complements his beautifully shot thriller. However what engaged me the most about this movie is the musical score. Reminding me a lot of scores from 40’s and 50’s film noir, Alberto Iglesias composes a magnificent throwback piece of work that helps the tense feeling very well.

Hopefully with your help, The Two Faces of January will find a much broader audience so that this great thriller will receive the acclaim that it really deserves. You will see that the brilliant acting and tremendous directing will help prove my point.

The Verdict: Worth Your Time.