The Film I'm Dying to See: The Two Faces of January

Stories like this just give me chills of excitement. The film is based off the 1964 psychological thriller novel The Two Faces of January by Patricia Highsmith. Immediately from reading the briefest of synopses and watching the trailer, I compared the film to The Talented Mr. Ripley, but stupidly enough it took a while to occur to me that they were actually written by the same author. Highsmith was also the literary genius who wrote Strangers on a Train, the film that Hitchcok then brought to the big screen. So with those credentials, I knew that the book and plot would be amazing, but what of the actual movie. In terms of visual splendor and attention to detail, it just looks immaculate. And then on the acting richter scale, with two huge names like Kirsten Dunst and Viggo Mortensen, you can rest assured you're in for a treat.

The film tells the story of Chester and Collette, a beautiful and wealthy married couple who are vacationing to see the Acropolis. Chester is actually a con artist, and when a policeman seems hot on his tails, he attempts to rid him and his wife of their pestering tail, knocking him out and attempting to dispose of him. During this process, he embroils his wife and himself, as well as a young con artist posing as a tourguide. As the police close their net, the three try to flee the country desperately. What is there about this story that could be resistable?!?: a perfect looking couple with a dark secret to hide, a murder, a coverup, fleeing through gorgeous scenic locations with amazing intensity and all the while, a subtle love triangle developing at the same time...

Everything from the music to the costumes to the storyline to the setting just has me utterly engrossed, in the same league as i've previously become obsessed with films of such magnitude like Titanic, Marie Antoinette, Atonement, The Young Victoria etc etc. In a way it rather is a period film, just not the extent of all the others. In short though, i'm dying to watch it.

I'm definitely adding all the Patricia Highsmith books to my reading list as well, definitely want to have the book read before the film opens in Australia (seriously, this film was released in February, and it still hasn't premiered in Aus cinemas. AUS GOVT, YOU WONDER WHY PEOPLE DOWNLOAD!?!?!)

In closing. A 2014 MUST-WATCH-PICTURE!

#movietime #reading