The Two Faces of January

2014 "A mysterious encounter. A dangerous past. A deadly secret."
6.2| 1h36m| PG-13| en| More Info
Released: 08 August 2014 Released
Producted By: StudioCanal
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

1962. A con artist, his wife, and a dangerous stranger are caught up in the murder of a private detective and are forced to try and escape Athens.

Genre

Thriller

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Director

Hossein Amini

Production Companies

StudioCanal

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The Two Faces of January Audience Reviews

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!
Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.
MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant
Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.
dakjets If you like the Alfred Hitchcock genre, this is perfect for you. The fairly low rating can be overlooked, because this is a good movie. Although no classic. The story spins around a successful American couple on holiday in Greece. Or are they really on holiday? A third person is involved with the couple, and the story is based on a kill that is committed. The three main characters perform well and manage to convey the tension between as the story goes on. In particular, Viggo Mortensen is good as most of the times. His being and personality make this both unpredictable and nerve-racking. The characters are not what you might think, and this gives the movie an extra dimension. The ending is also surprising. This is not a masterpiece, but certainly good narrative art, and filmed in a well-executed and good way. Recommend it.
Asxetos This couldn't have a better title since the basic character trio always wears two faces, and most of the time it's hard to tell which one is the mask. Hossein Amini directs this so good that it almost doesn't matter that it's quite light on plot. A rich American couple gets involved in murder, and a small-time con man, who works as a tour guide in 60s Greece, will help them, while trying to bite more than he can chew. It's a pretty simple storyline, with no major plot twists or memorable events, yet it's also a pleasure to watch as the tension between the three protagonists begins to rise.Dunst's role as the young wife gets a backseat halfway through this journey, since this is mainly a power struggle between the two men, but, luckily, their performances are great, especially Mortensen's, whose character is the most multilayered one, and, strangely enough, the most likable despite him being the least innocent of the bunch – not to mention that he oozes vintage charm from every pore, whether he lights up a cigarette, drinks whiskey, or just sits casually.The only flaws here? #1 we never get to know more about our characters #2 the surface of the father\son theme that seems to be explored here is barely scratched – and mainly towards the end – which is a shame because this could surely be one of the film's strength's. One thing that's great, though, is how good they've managed to portray 1962s Greece, (and Turkey), which looks as it's supposed to, but in such a subtle way that it never feels… artificial. In conclusion, great movie for those that are more into characters and less about action, (or plot). It's not perfect, yet it's certainly something worth watching at least once.
carbuff If it weren't so well filmed on location in Greece and a couple other photogenic European locales, I would probably only be rating this film around a 5. I was expecting a thriller, but instead it's more along the lines of a series of unfortunate events, although the story does keep moving in an unpredictable direction. The trailer to this film, however, is totally misleading and sells it as something much more like "The Talented Mr. Ripley", which was a very sophisticated and skillfully plotted thriller and also totally different from this movie. I'm guessing that a lot of people will find this film to be on the slow side, but that appealed to me personally, at least on the night I happened to watch it. In any event, I thought that it was worth the time for the scenery alone.
quincytheodore Almost resembling a documentary show of stranded tourists from Nat Geo channel, The Two Faces of January has a deceptively quaint atmosphere for a thriller. Characters are manipulative, morally ambiguous and have pathology tendency for deceit. However, it's irritatingly slow on creating tension and the script is rather thin even for the average runtime of the movie. The flamboyant visual is just barely enough to keep interest till the end.Chester (Viggo Mortensen) and Collette (Kirsten Dunst) are a couple who harbor some secrets. They take a vacation at Athens, but are eventually caught in an unfortunate incident and find themselves in a dire situation. Accepting the help of local con artist, Rydal (Oscar Isaac) they attempt to flee Greece. The movie has the acting department covered, a good trait since it's almost exclusively featuring these three characters as they clash personalities.It soon becomes clear that the seemingly happy couple are far from honest, even with each other. Situation escalates as Chester and Rydal collide, more than a couple of times. Using subtle cues it produces a sense of insecurity as the characters are trapped in unknown places, with slightly untrustworthy company, no less.The pace as it starts and ends are good, but it falters about halfway. Trivial banters keep the momentum from reaching its peak, furthermore the film uses too much of jealousy and dissatisfied couple tricks. It may build the characters, but the film roams into telenovela realm at some points, not the direction mystery thriller would optimize upon.Cinematography fares better, with the heavy European vista it's certainly has a different outlook. The retro vibe also helps, there's a distinct feel of classic detective nuance at play here. The mysteries, and also the latter act for that matter, are not highly captivating. The film serves as a crime drama in healthy does, but is not ambitious enough for complex con.Though it has charming cast and foreign allure, the slow pace might deter audience from taking part in this exotic trip.