

Acting
Gyllenhaal's unhinged vulnerability—nobody manic-pixie-grieves like him.
Direction
Vallée's fragmented editing mirrors a shattered psyche beautifully.
Writing
Those customer service letters are dark comedy gold.

Director
Jean-Marc Vallée
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Vallée edited this without traditional coverage—often using first takes and music as narrative glue, which explains the dreamy, unmoored quality of Davis's unraveling.
The real demolition crew were actual construction workers, not actors—Gyllenhaal genuinely learned to operate heavy machinery and destroyed that house for real. Method destruction.