The late lamented Anthony Minghella receives special thanks in the credits of The Two Faces of January for fairly obvious reasons. The British filmmaker, who passed away tragically young in 2008, was the master of this kind of dark, exotic, twisty and flamboyant yet intimate yarn and his influence is felt in every scene.
In fact, Minghella’s film The Talented Mr. Ripley is a direct ancestor as it’s also adapted from a psychological thriller by Patricia Highsmith and sees its American protagonists in peril of their own making in glamourous European locales. Ripley saw a dangerously bonkers Matt Damon caught in a web of lies throughout 50s Italy, while the 1962-set The Two Faces of January has Viggo Mortensen as a fugitive fraudster and Kirsten Dunst as his trophy wife seeking help from Oscar Isaacs’ shifty conman as they evade the law in Greece and Turkey.
It’s unfortunate that the two films have so many similarities that you can’t help but compare them, because The Two Faces of January will always come off unfavourably when compared to the Talented Mr. Ripley. Minghella’s 1999 movie had his assured directing hand as well as well as his masterful screenplay and is a much tighter, more haunting and memorable experience.
But if you can cast that film from your mind The Two Faces of January is still mightily impressive and hugely enjoyable in its own right. It’s the feature directing debut of prolific screenwriter Hossein Amini, who displays a visual flair and an ability to conjure period atmosphere helped in no small part by cinematographer Marcel Zyskind, who makes every location look like somewhere you’d want to visit even when they’re the backdrop for some very dark doings. The Greek and Turkish tourist boards are probably very pleased that this film has been made.
The cast are all perfect for their roles and, judging from the blooper reel included in the extras, had a whale of a time. Oscar Isaac is especially watchable as the Ripley-esque tortured young man with a secret. Hopefully, even though his star is about to explode with his appearance in the new Star Wars films, he’ll still have the opportunity to appear in more low-key thrillers like this.
If you’re anything like me then this kind of film is perfect escapist wish fulfilment that transports you for 90 minutes to a time and place so much more interesting and cool than where you’re watching it. And it manages to infuse its story with a real flavour and sense of its settings so that Athens and Istanbul become characters too, in the same way Vienna is in The Third Man or Venice in Don’t Look Now. Not that The Two Faces of January is anywhere near as impactful or memorable as those classics but it’s still a great story fantastically well told even if the only lasting impression it leaves on you is a desire to go on holiday.
Overall Verdict: A rattling piece of stylish escapism of the kind that doesn’t get made enough these days. Beautiful locations beautifully photographed by Marcel Zyskind and complex characters you enjoy spending time with make this the kind of movie that’s the next best thing to going on holiday.
Special Features:
Twist and Thriller Featurette
Shooting the Odyssey Featurette
Travelling in Style Featurette
Interviews with Director Hossein Amini, Actors Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Isaac and Kirsten Dunst
Deleted Scenes
Bloopers
Reviewer: Adam Pidgeon