Both Nocturnal Animals and Demolition feature Gyllenhaal’s character suffering a close, monumental loss, but in the latter film his response is more about retaking power of his life and physically destroying the past.
That’s the antithesis of what the actor goes through in the new Tom Ford movie, highlighting it as an interesting choice for him.
Jake Gyllenhaal didn’t specify the title and the performance that inspired him to take on Nocturnal Animals as a contrast project, but the way his projects have lined up suggest that he was referring to Jean-Marc Vallée’s Demolition – which makes a good degree of sense.