Rent The Two Faces of January (2014)
3.0 of 5 from 545 ratings
1h 33min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- The charismatic Chester MacFarland (Viggo Mortensen) and his alluring younger wife Colette (Kirsten Dunst) are in Athens during a European vacation. Whilst sightseeing at the Acropolis they encounter Rydal (Oscar Isaac), a young, Greek-speaking American who is working as a tour guide, scamming female tourists on the side. Drawn to Colette's beauty and impressed by Chester's wealth and sophistication, Rydal gladly accepts their invitation to dinner. But, all is not as it seems with the MacFarlands as Chester's affable exterior hides darker secrets. When Rydal visits the couple at their exclusive hotel, events take a more sinister turn and he finds himself compromised and unable to pull free...
- Actors:
- Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, Oscar Isaac, Daisy Bevan, Babis Chatzidakis, David Warshofsky, Pat Hillard, Ozan Tas, Peter Mair, Helena Jinx Jones, Omiros Poulakis, George Tzoganidis, Ioannis Vordos, Panagiota Stavrakaki, Stella Fyrogeni, Nikos Makkas, Filippos Filoglou, Xemio Mastrandonakis, Michalis Mastrandanakis, Stavros Tsaltoumis
- Directors:
- Hossein Amini
- Producers:
- Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo, Tom Sternberg
- Writers:
- Hossein Amini, Patricia Highsmith
- Studio:
- StudioCanal
- Genres:
- Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- 2014, CinemaParadiso.co.uk Through Time
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 15/09/2014
- Run Time:
- 97 minutes
- Languages:
- English Audio Description, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.40:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- A Twist on the Classic Thriller
- Shooting the Odyssey Featurette
- Travelling in Style Featurette
- Interviews with Director Hossein Amini, Actors Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst and Oscar Isaac
- Deleted Scenes
- Bloopers
- Feature Storyboards
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Reviews (8) of The Two Faces of January
Pleasantly surprised - The Two Faces of January review by CP Customer
I confess that I ordered this by accident as I had seen the trailer and got the strong impression that it would be a total bore but I was actually pleasantly surprised and am equally surprised by the other reviews. Perhaps it's because I have personal experience of jealousy and therefore could relate to the Chester MacFarland character who is forced into holding the company of a young ambitious, charming young man Rydal who seems to do everything right whilst everything Chester tries seems to end in disaster. It reflects how in life, even strong love can quickly turn to hate and what a fine line that can be.
It's true that this is not a fast paced film but the tension between Colette (Kirsten Dunst) and Rydal keeps it going and I actually thought (Viggo Mortensen put in a great performance as the man falling dramatically from grace.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Not as talented as Mr Ripley. - The Two Faces of January review by Steve
Handsome, touristic (set in Greece), leisurely psychological thriller is well acted and well set up, but suffers for lack of an interesting conclusion. Good for enthusiasts of Patricia Highsmith. Better watch the similar Plein Soleil with Alain Delon.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Mismanaged mess - The Two Faces of January review by AS
After a promising set-up, straight from the source novel, the movie meanders into little more than a traverlogue, bland and unengaging, with very scant plot and barely any narrative arc. None of the characters invites either sympathy or empathy. The fault is the writing/directing: Viggo Mortensen doesn't seem to have been advised what to do with his character; Kisten Dunst told simply to look like a perplexed wife; Oscar Isaacs to be perpetually gloomy. The climax, when it eventually comes, looks like something from the Keystone Kops. The final scene is an excruciating cliché.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Critic review
The Two Faces of January review by George Hooper - Cinema Paradiso
There have been many great thrillers, thrillers that can be sung about from the rooftops for their breakneck pace or their killer storytelling. Then there are thrillers that plod along like they have seemingly forgotten what the point of a thriller was. Here is a helpful hint for all those filmmakers, the feeling of a thriller is in the title. Clearly someone should teach the director of The Two Faces of January how to at least read before they put a camera in front of him.
The film follows married couple Collette (Kirsten Dunst) and Chester (Viggo Mortensen) as they travel abroad and find themselves in the company of Rydal (Oscar Isaac) and the three form an unusual bond as they find themselves on the run when they are all implicated in the murder of a private investigator and must flee for their lives as the three have to decide which of them actually carried out the heinous crime and for what purpose.
The film has a decent mystery at the heart of it but by the end when you are looking forward to a grand revelation you are so fatigued by the films events that you hardly care. Not only does the film concentrate so heavily on the psychological aspects that it forgets that at the heart of this story are actual characters and real stakes so much so that while certain scenes should be concentrating on the idea that one of these people is a murderer they find themselves psychoanalysing each other.
The whole thing doesn’t quite gel, the cast is excellent and some of the script shines with ambiguity but there are many moments where you will be scratching your head and thinking about why they did it. While you might find some interest in the overthinking, under rationalised story its hard not to think of The Fugitive and wonder how the creators got so far away from the films thriller-esque plot beginnings.