I'm the kind of guy who buries everything deep down. If someone close to me died, you wouldn't know it unless I told you. If I got fired or failed a class, my general demeanor wouldn't change enough to be noticeable. I internalize everything, burying it deep down inside and doing my best to ignore until eventually, it just goes away or the world solves the problem for me. It's a quietly destructive system of dealing with hardships, but from my experience I think I would prefer it to the alternate, more vocal and public approach. People often deem this method unhealthy, something I vehemently disagree with. I'm a put together individual, relatively mature and pretty steadfast in my fundamental beliefs and morality, especially considering I'm 19. Demolition is one of the first films I've seen that seemed to reflect my methods for dealing with stress (on some level anyways) that didn't ultimately indict them. I loved it.

As a film, Demolition is a quiet powerhouse of emotion. Jake Gyllenhaal continues to justify his standing as one of the finest actors working right now, giving a quiet and darkly comedic performance that is absolutely fundamental to the success of the film. Naomi Watts, an incredible actress in her own right, seems a bit off kilter and awkward, but so is the character she is playing so I have no issues with her work here either. Jean-Marc Vallee's direction here is great as well, weaving a sort of confused story together through effective editing and a fundamental loyalty to the subdued mentality of it's protagonist. A quick look at RottenTomatoes and I see that many are calling this a "slog", or a film that doesn't necessarily reflect the tragedy of it's narrative. But Demolition takes place within Gyllenhaal's head, attempting to cinematically represent the process of internalizing grief and strife, which I feel inherently lends itself to a subdued atmosphere.

But the moments that need to land do, mostly consisting of another character desperately trying to salvage any sort of emotional response from Gyllenhaal. I found the film to be profoundly relatable, perhaps the most I've ever seen in it's interpretation of grief and loss. Now let me make a few things clear. I'm 19, so I've never lost a wife, a child or a parent. I've never torn down my house or taken apart my fridge, and I've never really dealt with any stress outside of relationships (romantic and platonic),grandparents passing or dogs dying, school related stress or financial concerns. But stress is relative, and I saw myself in Gyllenhaal's journey. There was no scene with him crying himself to sleep, or breaking down at the deceased's gravestone. No constant screaming, anguish or turmoil. Life went on, and only those around him aroused any emotion following his wife's death.

It's a fundamentally human film, masquerading as an absurdist comedy while dealing with some of life's most confounding scenarios. It's a film that tracks Gyllenhaal's breakdown, bravely painted with humor and melancholy alone. And amidst that insincerity the film finds some beauty in the breakdown, as Gyllenhaal eventually finds his answers within the rubble of his old life. I can sympathize with Demolition's detractors, but personally I found something really beautiful that I hope to cling to and appreciate further as I mature. I found a film that doesn't malign my mentality towards adversity, but rather explores it and tries to understand it. It's a film with sympathy for it's conflicted protagonist, and subsequently I found sympathy for myself in there as well.

A personal favorite.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays Davis, an investment banker in his father in law's firm. After his wife dies in a car accident he struggles with the grieving process but finds some kind of catharsis though a customer service representative of a vending machine company and her son as well as by literally demolishing his life both physically and mentally.

Davis's wife Julia was rich, her parent's wealthy. He had sex with his wife three hours after he met her in a party. The marriage was beneficial for him and Davis realises he never truly loved her but should had done more to make the marriage work.

Davis's behaviour especially his newly found fondness to dismantle everything alienates him from his father in law and his co-workers at the firm. He also seems to be stalked by someone in a station wagon and the owner of the vending machine company is not pleased with him as the customer service rep is his girlfriend.

The film wastes the supporting actors like Naomi Watts and Chris Cooper. The screenplay is a mess, it is not about a man grieving but a man feeling guilty that he did not love his wife. Davis is a selfish prick and a dumb one as he could not figure out why that station wagon kept following him.

As the film begins, Davis (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his wife are in the car and she's driving. Their conversation seems mundane...when suddenly there's an accident and she's killed.

How Davis responds to her death is really strange...though not completely hard to believe. Instead of focusing on his feelings, Davis is mechanical in how he looks at things....analyzing and thinking with zero emotion. A few of his quirks include taking apart machines around the home and office...just to see how they work as well as sending a string of long meandering letters to a vending machine company...because he lost $1.50 in one of their machines! He obviously is compartmentalizing....in other words, locking away his feelings and closing the door on them in his mind. This does not mean he doesn't think about his wife...but when he does, it's in a very disconnected and strangely analytical fashion.

During the course of this strange nervous breakdown, his letters have an impact on the customer service rep who has been receiving them. Out of the blue, she calls him and they form a friendship....a very tentative and strange friendship. And, you start to realize that both of them are damaged souls...as is her very odd son. What's next? See the film.

Like so much of Jake Gyllenhaal's work, this film is incredibly strange and hard to predict. This actually is why I sought out this film.... I love how this actor takes risks and plays the most unusual actors. If you don't believe this, consider SOURCE CODE, NIGHTCRAWLER and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. These are NOT typical Hollywood releases and almost defy description...which I appreciate. After all, with over 26,000 reviews to my credit, there does often seem to be a sameness to a lot of films.

Apart from being different, is it worth seeing? And, is it any good? Yes, though I don't see the film as the type everyone would like, that's for sure. In many ways, the movie actually reminds me of Adam Sandler's REIGN OVER ME, a highly neglected film about a man who lost his family and simply refuses to come to terms with it. Both movies really make you think...both are also a bit unpleasant to watch but well worth seeing.

I think this is a brave movie...one worth watching. However, it doesn't have a nice, clean, happy ending....and I could understand folks not enjoying the movie as a result.