See it at the Movies

DEMOLITION

with Joyce & Don Fowler
Posted 4/21/16

* * *

(Offbeat look at grieving process)

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Davis, a widower who has problems dealing with the death of his wife. He expresses his grief and anger by writing to the …

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See it at the Movies

DEMOLITION

Posted

* * *

(Offbeat look at grieving process)

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Davis, a widower who has problems dealing with the death of his wife. He expresses his grief and anger by writing to the customer service department of a vending machine company where he lost some change.

He eventually meets Karen (Naomi Watts), the employee in charge of complaints, and they slowly develop a platonic relationship as he befriends her troubled young son.

Meanwhile, Davis goes through some unconventional ways of dealing with his wife’s death. His work ethic slips, much to the dismay of his boss/father-in-law (Chris Cooper), who never liked him. Father-in-law gives him some advice about looking at his life, taking it apart and putting it back together. Davis takes his analogy literally and starts taking everything apart, from his leaky refrigerator to his office computer to a bathroom stall. Then he moves on to a demolition stage, paying construction workers to tear down old houses and finally destroying his own upscale house.

Yes, Davis, and the movie, is a little bizarre, but the story does address grief and the different ways we deal with it.

Davis’ relationship with Karen and her son is most interesting, if a bit offbeat. There’s a great scene where Davis explains to the boy how his overuse of the four-letter word makes the word meaningless.

This is not a movie for everyone, but if you enjoy examining emotions and how people deal with them, you’ll appreciate “Demolition.”

Rated R, with profanity and some sexual references.

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