Movie No. 105 (2014): THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY

The Two Faces of January (2014)
Director: Hossein Amini
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Isaac, Kirsten Dunst

The movie is adapted from a Patricia Highsmith novel. It starts with an American couple, Chester (Viggo Mortensen) and his young wife, Colette (Kisten Dunst), meeting another American, Rydal (Oscar Isaac), who works as a tour guide in the Parthenon in Greece. Rydal befriends the couple. Then an incident at the hotel where the couple stay forces the three to form alliance and puts them on the run. The bond that ties them together, however, is put to test as tension escalates, secrets get uncovered, and unexpected things happen.

The movie is presented in what's called Hitchcockian. The intrigue that sustains the suspense lies heavily on the artful conning and permanent interests of the characters. But the movie's suspense doesn't really reach a boiling point. It only continues to simmer to (almost) dryness. But, that's not entirely a bad thing. In fact, I like the movie. The performances of Viggo Mortensen and Oscar Isaac are competent.

Rating: 3.0/4.0

Date seen: December 30, 2014

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