Fran's Thoughts

American actor Jake Gyllenhaal is often regarded as one of the best actors currently working in Hollywood. He has starred in many films in the past two decades, and is slated to perform in many more in the coming years. Today, I will rank ten of his popular films. In the order of their release date, they are: October Sky, Donnie Darko, Brokeback Mountain, Zodiac, Prisoners, Enemy, Nightcrawler, Life, Okja, and Velvet Buzzsaw. I will rank each by considering Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance, everyone else’s performance, the cinematography, the directing, the story, and the writing.

1.Brokeback Mountain ✰ 100/100 

Brokeback Mountain portrays two cowboys, Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal), who fall in love in the summer of 1963 while working as sheepherders. The film then explores the couple’s fight with sexuality and societal expectations as they grow older. The film’s acting and technical elements are exemplary. 

2. Enemy ✰ 97/100 

Enemy is the story of a college professor (Gyllenhaal) who realizes that he has a doppelganger. The film combines the classic fight of Man vs. Man with Man vs. Self, giving it a very unique conflict. The film has excellent directing and acting, but loses points because it is difficult to understand after just one viewing.

3. Donnie Darko ✰ 95/100

Donnie Darko (Gyllenhaal) is a teenage boy battling with schizophrenia. He hallucinates an evil rabbit who is telling him to commit crimes. Young Gyllenhaal’s acting was impressive, but the other actors were not as excellent. The story was difficult to follow at times. 

4. Zodiac ✰ 94/100 

Zodiac is about a newspaper cartoonist (Gyllenhaal) who is trying to solve the cypher of the Zodiac Killer. The acting and directing were fantastic, but the cinematography was not particularly compelling.

5. Nightcrawler ✰ 93/100 

Nightcrawler is about Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal), who is looking for work in L.A. He finds the market for crime filmography, so he drives around at night looking for crime as it happens. He films it and sells the footage to news stations. It has excellent acting and a great story, but the cinematography is just fine. 

6. Prisoners ✰ 92/100

In Prisoners, Keller Dover’s (Hugh Jackman) daughter is abducted, and Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) is in charge of solving the case. The film’s acting and technical elements are excellent, but it loses points due to its lack of accuracy in police procedures. 

7. Okja ✰ 89/100 

Okja is a genetically modified pig who is raised by young Korean girl Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun). She loves Okja, and attempts to save her from kidnapping by the corporation that created her. Dr. Johnny (Gyllenhaal) attempts to use Okja for entertainment. It is a good film, but some of the acting is over the top. 

8. October Sky ✰ 82/100 

October Sky explores Homer Hickham’s (Gyllenhaal) passion for rocket science. He wants to pursue science, but his father (Chris Cooper) wants him to work in the West Virginian coal mines. The film greatly depicts passion and expectations through its excellent acting, but has just competent writing and directing. 

9. Life ✰ 69/100 

Life is found on Mars, and the scientists in the International Space Station take care of it. Little do they know that it is more intelligent than expected. The acting from Gyllenhaal and the cinematography are good, but everything else about the film is mediocre. 

10. Velvet Buzzsaw ✰ 37/100 

Velvet Buzzsaw is the story of high end art tradespeople, who find and sell a large collection from a dead man. Bad things immediately start to happen to them, and Morf Vandewalt (Gyllenhaal) attempts to find the root of the problem. The acting was great and cinematography was competent, but everything else about the film was not good; the story and writing were especially ridiculous. 

Jake Gyllenhaal has starred in a wide range of films and genres, and this selection touches on each genre. Gyllenhaal's body of work proves his talent: the film he is working in may not be perfect, but his performance always increases the quality of the movie.