''The Two Faces of January'' is a 2014 thriller film written and directed by Hossein Amini, in his feature film directorial debut. It is based on Patricia Highsmith's 1964 novel ''

The Two Faces of January ''The Two Faces of January'' (1964) is a psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith. Its title alludes to the two faces of the Roman god Janus, after whom the month of January was named. Biographer Andrew Wilson, in his 2003 publication ' ...

'' and stars Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst and Oscar Isaac. Filming took place on location in Greece and Turkey, and at Ealing Studios in London. It premiered in February 2014 in the Berlinale Special Galas section of the

64th Berlin International Film Festival The 64th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 6 to 16 February 2014. Wes Anderson's film ''The Grand Budapest Hotel'' opened the festival. British film director Ken Loach was presented with the Honorary Golden Bear. The Golden ...

Plot

In 1962, New York con man Chester MacFarland and his wife Colette are touring Greece. At the

Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

, they meet Rydal Keener, an American who is alienated from his family and who refused to attend his father's funeral in the US. Rydal scams tourists while working as a tour guide in Athens. The MacFarlands invite him to dinner. Rydal, intrigued by the couple's wealth and Colette's beauty, accepts their invitation and brings along a girlfriend. Colette likes Rydal but Chester does not trust him. After dinner they part, but Rydal goes back to their hotel to return a bracelet that Colette left in their shared taxi. Meanwhile, a private detective hired by victims of Chester's investment swindles visits the MacFarlands' hotel room and demands that Chester repay their money. The detective pulls a gun, but Chester accidentally kills him after a struggle in which the detective falls and hits his head. As Chester is carrying the body to the detective's hotel room, Rydal finds him in the corridor. Chester tells Rydal that the detective is unconscious and asks for help, explaining that the detective had threatened him, that he owes people money, and that he and Colette are in danger. They hastily pack their suitcases and flee the hotel with Rydal but without checking out, leaving their passports at the front desk. Rydal takes Chester to a friend who can furnish false passports to replace those left behind at the hotel. Rydal suggests waiting for the counterfeit documents in Crete. In the capital city

Iraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban A ...

, they cannot check into a hotel without identification and so they spend the evening at a restaurant, where Chester gets drunk while watching Rydal and Colette dance. They all sleep on the quayside until the morning, when a bus leaves for Chania, where they check into a small hotel that is less strict about ID. With the story of the dead detective in newspapers and on the radio, Rydal encourages Chester to turn himself in, but Chester refuses. Colette visits Rydal's room while her husband sleeps and they go out; when Chester awakens he becomes suspicious, gets drunk, pursues them, and reveals to his wife that he killed the detective. On the way back to Iraklion, Colette believes someone has recognized her from newspaper pictures; she runs off the bus at a stop. Chester and Rydal follow and together they walk to the ruins of Knossos. It begins to rain and they seek shelter. Chester lures Rydal into an underground labyrinth and knocks him out. When Chester emerges alone, Colette assumes that he has killed Rydal. She refuses to go any further with Chester, but he tries to force her, grabbing her arm. As she struggles, she loses her balance and falls from a flight of stairs. Chester rushes down to her but she is dead. He takes her in his arms and cries out in grief. When Rydal comes to in the morning, he discovers Colette's dead body and is seen by a group of students and their guide as he leaves. Chester has rushed to Iraklion to pick up the passports from Rydal's friend. Rydal tracks down Chester on a ferry back to Athens. The two realize that they are bound together by two deaths. If either man is arrested, he will implicate the other. Chester offers Rydal $10,000 to keep quiet. Rydal says that he never wanted Chester's money; rather, he wanted Chester's wife. Chester grabs him by the throat and nearly pushes him overboard as he warns him to never mention his wife again. Arriving in Athens, they head to the airport, where Chester pretends to buy them both tickets to Frankfurt. He says he is going for a drink, then boards a plane to Istanbul, leaving Rydal with a suitcase containing documents that tie him to Colette. Rydal locates Chester in Istanbul and telephones him, demanding a meeting in the Grand Bazaar and threatening to go to the police unless Chester pays him off. Unbeknownst to Chester, Rydal has already been arrested by an FBI agent who demands that Rydal wear a wire and extract a confession from Chester. At their rendezvous, Rydal's questioning makes Chester suspicious. Sensing a trap, he flees and a chase ensues with both Chester and Rydal running from the FBI agent and Turkish police. A policeman shoots Chester who, as he lies dying, confesses to Rydal his responsibility for both deaths. After Rydal is exonerated and released, the agent tells him that Chester will be buried in Istanbul. Rydal attends his funeral and buries Colette's bracelet at Chester's grave.

Cast

* Viggo Mortensen as Chester MacFarland * Kirsten Dunst as Colette MacFarland * Oscar Isaac as Rydal Keener * Yigit Ozsener as Yahya * Daisy Bevan as Lauren * David Warshofsky as Paul Vittorio * Omiros Poulakis as Niko

Production

Hossein Amini wrote the screenplay, which also marks his directorial debut; Amini said he had wanted to direct a

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

of the novel for the past 15 years. Amini's screenplay is based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith. He wrote:

What I love about Highsmith is the way that she puts us in the shoes of traditionally 'unlikeable' characters, often criminals, and then makes us not only understand their motivations but recognize something of ourselves in them... It was this type of connection that drew me to Chester MacFarland,... a jealous, alcoholic conman who is nevertheless a deeply tragic figure. His journey of murder, flight and redemption made him an unforgettable character for me and one of the main reasons I wanted to turn the novel into a film.

Producer Tom Sternberg optioned the rights to the novel and originally set up a project with the production company Mirage. Sternberg developed the project with Amini and it found the backing by StudioCanal and Working Title. Principal photography began August 2012 in Athens, Crete, Istanbul, and London's Ealing Studios. Identifiable locations include the Küçük Hasan mosque on Chania harbour, a nearby café and the Grand Arsenal in Plateia Katehaki, the ruins of Knossos near Iraklion, and the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.

Release

StudioCanal distributed the film in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, and New Zealand, and Universal Studios distributed it in Spain and Scandinavia; the latter sold distribution rights for other territories.

Entertainment One Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...

acquired rights for Canada. Magnolia Pictures picked up distribution rights for the United States and released the film via VOD on August 28, 2014, to be followed by a theatrical release on October 3, 2014.

Reception

''The Two Faces of January'' received mostly positive reviews; it holds an 79% rating based on 124 reviews on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 6.75/10. The consensus states: "With striking visuals, complex characters, and

Hitchcockian Hitchcockian films are those made by various filmmakers, with the styles and themes similar to those of Alfred Hitchcock. Characteristics Elements considered Hitchcockian include: *Climactic plot twist. *The cool platinum blonde. *The presence ...

plot twists, ''The Two Faces of January'' offers a pleasantly pungent treat for fans of romantic thrillers." On Metacritic, the film has a 66/100 rating from 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Peter DeBruge of '' Variety'' wrote that Amini "expertly blends touches of Hitchcock and Highsmith". In comparing it to ''

The Talented Mr. Ripley ''The Talented Mr. Ripley'' is a 1955 psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith. This novel introduced the character of Tom Ripley, who returns in four subsequent novels. It has been adapted numerous times for screen, including ''Purpl ...

'', Deborah Young of '' The Hollywood Reporter'' said that it lacks the "''joie de vivre''" of that film, but has lush cinematography and shows Amini's "skill at working with actors". Manohla Dargis of '' The New York Times'' wrote, "Mr. Amini adds embellishing details and plot layers, hints at a grave

Oedipal The Oedipus complex (also spelled Œdipus complex) is an idea in psychoanalytic theory. The complex is an ostensibly universal phase in the life of a young boy in which, to try to immediately satisfy basic desires, he unconsciously wishes to have ...

disturbance, turns up the sexual heat and smoothly increases the narrative torque." Betsy Sharkey of the '' Los Angeles Times'' wrote, "As was the case in the book, there are moves that don't always make sense, but the game-playing is riveting."

References

External links

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