Of the films in Gyllenhaal's early career, Donnie Darko is perhaps the best example of his "troubled teen existentialist" roles. As a perfectly normal yet alarmingly disturbed young man, Gyllenhaal strikes a nice balance between the two and his portrayal of adolescence remains free of cliche. After this movie, Gyllenhaal would do a string of typically sensitive but troubled performances. But Donnie Darko teases what a compelling and charismatic actor Gyllenhaal would become in later years.
2005 was a transitionary year for Gyllenhaal because he released three films (Brokeback Mountain, Jarhead and Proof) which successfully took him from teenage roles to more adult fare. Not surprisingly, Brokeback Mountain was the most critically acclaimed of the bunch and earned him an Oscar nomination. As Jack Twist, the closeted cowboy who begins a torrid affair with another man, Gyllenhaal applied his sensitive teen persona to this role. By doing that, he created one of his most mature and complicated performances. Brokeback Mountain officially brought Gyllenhaal to the big leagues (though I'm not sure if this movie will hold up in the future because of the ever-changing landscape of gay politics).
Playing obsessed true crime author Robert Graysmith (who wrote the book upon which Zodiac is based), Gyllenhaal gives a more subdued but effective performance. Robert, introduced as a well-meaning, curious, Boy Scout cartoonist, firsts interacts with the mystery by solving a coded letter. As the film goes on, his curiosity becomes more dangerous and he puts everything on the line in pursuit of the killer's identity. Zodiac shows his boyish innocence being tainted by something horrific and it subtly conveys the consequences of journalistic obsession.
Jones' thriller is perhaps one of the most sophisticated modern science-fiction films and I really liked Gyllenhaal's performance in it. It plays into all of his strengths as an actor: the charm, the determination, the good-boy need to make things right. As Colter Stevens, he is relentless in his pursuit but also still figuring things out as the audience is. And that relatable quality to the performance is what grounds what otherwise would have been an outlandish Groundhog Day meets Inception narrative. No one will really mistake Gyllenhaal for a tough guy, but he uses his boyishness to great effect.
End of Watch provided Gyllenhaal with the best opportunity to really sink into a character without any sort of hook or plot device (like the time travel element of Source Code or the gay cowboy aspect of Brokeback Mountain). This is a straightforward cop drama where Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena are partners on-duty and friends off-duty. Gyllenhaal's work here is naturalistic and authentic and his chemistry with Pena is almost electric. Together they years of history through body language and speech patterns. This is truly a lived-in performance, capturing the nuances of being an LA cop: boredom, terror, camaraderie with your partner, rivalries with other cops, questions that don't have answers.
Other remarkable films starring Jake Gyllenhaal:
1. Love & Other Drugs
2. Brothers
3. The Good Girl
4. Jarhead
5. The Day After Tomorrow
I hope you enjoyed this second entry of my new series. Look out for part 3 even though I'm still figuring out who is going to be in the spotlight. Feel free to leave comments below.
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