Thursday, June 15, 2017

Okja in Smoke

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Even though I avoided the reviews out of Cannes like the plague I still sort of became aware that Jake Gyllenhaal's apparently way way way over the top performance in Okja was... divisive. But I'm still surprised to see today that the latest trailer for the film barely features him - he gets exactly ONE quick shot (seen above) and his name is tossed off as "And Jake Gyllenhaal" under all the others at the very end, while Tilda and the little girl both get big showcase moments. I swear he was being pushed as part of the film more before this, and why wouldn't he have been - he is the biggest star of the bunch. I sense shenanigans!
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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

divisive is a nice way to put in consideration... It was DESPISED. Almost no any trade review had any good review to mention his performance in a positive way (And even some of twitter reactions).

Anonymous said...

Horse-face Jake has only himself to blame.

Anonymous said...

LOL! Horse-face Jake? To be fair, he doesn't look like a horse but yeah his face is kinda long and pointed.

Dan said...

Who is this vile anon always saying "horse-face Jake" on every single Jake G related post? I don't understand the animosity. The reactions I saw on Twitter varied from "his performance is a revelation" to "rivals Swinton in Snowpiercer for daring" to "belongs in a different movie". I personally can't wait to see the film which gets a cinema release in the UK a few days before Netflix release.

Jason Adams said...

Y'all I love Jake more than words, but I also love our "horse face Jake" poster! They give me a sense of balance.

Anonymous said...

Hey Dan, take a leaf out of Jason's blog which I luv - don't take things too seriously. I've nothing against Jake or any other celeb, it's sheer fun poking at featured stars here and there. I poke fun at others too and more so, at myself amongst friends. But coming back to the reviews, I've yet to see a positive write-up on Jake in that movie.

Anonymous said...

Dan, like you said, twitter from fans, but the trades reviews are another thing.

Jordan Hoffman - Gyllenhaal goes Full Sharlto but if you can handle that OKJA is quite the film. A crime if it doesn't show in theaters. #Cannes2017

Kyle Buchanan - OKJA: Big pig and big ideas, but the performances are even bigger, topped by a Jake Gyllenhaal role so flamboyant it can be seen from space

The Hollywood Reporter - Sadly, Jake Gyllenhaal opts for much broader slapstick mugging as Mirando's boozy sidekick Dr. Johnny Wilcox, a former TV zoologist whose reputation went into a nosedive after he signed on as a paid corporate shill. Channeling Jim Carrey at his most grating, Gyllenhaal is wasted here.

The Playlist - Jake Gyllenhaal, in a performance broader than Okja’s rear end

The Guardian - Admittedly, Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance as the gurning Dr Wilcox is pretty broad and so is Swinton’s own performance at the very beginning. But her presence in the film deepens and intensifies as time goes on, showing us new perspectives of family anxiety and she is a marvellously watchable villain, wincing and scowling with self-pity and fear.

Variety - Gyllenhaal, sweaty and screechy in a performance that’s three times as weird as it needs to be.

Screendaily - It should be said that hers is one of the few controlled turns in a film that wildly overindulges madcap performances. Worst offenders are a wildly mugging Shirley Henderson and Jake Gyllenhaal - “squeaking and whining,” as one character complains - in a manic comedy-nebbish role that Sacha Baron Cohen might have pulled off, but that is leadenly hysterical in a way that’s hardly characteristic of this fine thesp.

I agree with the remark of horseface (It's offensive) thought.

Glenn said...

He's TERRIBLE with a shtick that makes no sense, but even worse, the film has no idea what to do with him and he is basically just bumped out of it at one point never to return.