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Denis Villeneuve might be one of the less likely directors to find himself helming massive Hollywood blockbusters.
That involved observing theater directors at work and learning how better to communicate with actors.
This isnt the sort of career path that always proceeds to directing the biggest films imaginable.
That intersection has become kind of a sweet spot for Villeneuve, even outside the science-fiction genre.
Complex, conflicting emotions and the capriciousness of fate have played central roles from the beginning of his career.
Its just the stage thats gotten larger.
An interest in dark whimsy and moral ambiguity drives both films.
(The fish, however, earned nothing.)
Simon wants nothing to do with it.
It also suggested much of what was to come.
Jake Gyllenhaal co-stars as Loki, the detective working the case.
Some of its greatest strengths have nothing to do with strange worlds and special effects.
But, once again, its the human costs exacted by these conflicts that are his main concern.
Pair this withIncendies, and youll find one rhyming element after another.
What its all about remains up for discussion, seemingly by design.
But Villeneuve feels no obligation to settle on a single theme or revealEnemys secrets.
Its opaque and inconclusive and all the more haunting for it.
(Okay, that last ones not that difficult.)
Its story spans the galaxy and features numerous subplots, twists, and conspiracies.
And it largely takes place in the desert.
Its a galactic epic made at human scale.
It also features a sci-fi rarity: aliens that seem truly alien.
