Academy Award-nomineeJake Gyllenhaalis the star of many blockbuster movies, including Ang Lee’s Oscar-winningBrokeback Mountainand Richard Kelly’s cult-classicDonnie Darko. A method actor dedicated to his craft, he is known to undergo crazy transformations for his roles and famously lost 30 pounds to play Lou Bloom in Dan Gilroy’sNightcrawler.
Gyllenhaal is most known for the movies above, but with a career spanning three decades, he has starred in many more gems that often go overlooked. From Miguel Arteta’sThe Good GirltoBong Joon-Ho’sOkja, these are the Jake Gyllenhaal movies that fans might’ve missed.
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The Good Girl (2002)
“As a girl, you see the world as a giant candy store filled with sweet candy and such. But one day you look around, and you see a prison, and you’re on death row” — so begins Miguel Arteta’s comedy-dramaThe Good Girl,which is anything but fluffy.Dark and depressing,it follows Retail Rodeo worker Justine (Jennifer Aniston), a 30-year-old Texan woman fed up with her humdrum life and daft husband Phil (John C. Reilly). Entering into an affair with her younger co-worker Holden (Gyllenhaal), Justine begins living a fantasy, but can it sustain itself?
The most underrated Gyllenhaal movie,The Good Girlsplit general audiences but gained praise from critics. As it stands, the comedy-drama has a 6.4 rating on IMDb and a score of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an audience score of 59%. Positive reviews single outJennifer Aniston’s performance— which is surely one of the best of her career — and Arteta’s darkly comic, idiosyncratic characters. Gyllenhaal’s melodramatic and angsty Holden may be the funniest, but Zooey Deschanel’s no-f’s-given Cheryl and Mike White’s Bible-bashing Corny provide strong competition.
Demolition (2015)
Another comedy-drama with grit, Jean-Marc Vallée’sDemolitionfollows a banker, Davis Mitchell (Gyllenhaal),grieving his recently-deceased wife. In the midst of a mental breakdown, Davis becomes inconsolably angry over a broken vending machine and begins sending letters of complaint to the machine’s manufacturer; this altercation puts him in contact with customer service representative Karen Moreno (Naomi Watts) whom he forms a deep platonic relationship with.
Demolitionoffers aninteresting portrayal of griefthat is metaphorical and authentic. As Davis mourns and moves through the five stages of grief, Gyllenhaal does his best impression of each, giving it his all with anger. Known for playing chaotic characters, the actor is well suited to play Davis, who is breaking down and breaking things in one moment, and sweetly offering advice to Karen’s wayward son Chris (Judah Lewis) in the next.
Southpaw (2015)
Initially created with Eminem in mind, Antoine Fuqua’sSouthpawis asports drama with a lot of heart. Here Gyllenhaal plays the lead role of boxing champion Billy Hope, who loses his zest for life when he loses his family. At rock bottom, Billy encounters former fighter Tick Willis (Forest Whitaker), who inspires him and puts him on the path to reviving his career and regaining custody of his daughter Leila (Oona Laurence).
Though Gyllenhaal wasn’t the first pick for this role, it is hard to imagine anyone outperforming him. As he did withNightcrawler, the actor completely transformed himself to play Billy, gaining 28 pounds of lean muscle to achieve the boxer’s buff physique. And not only that, but his coach Terry Claybon had him train as a boxer, too.As the actor tellsBodybuilding,“You can’t play a boxer and just look like a boxer; you have to believe you can exist in that world.” Before this gig, Gyllenhaal showed a similar level of dedication with the cop thrillerEnd of Watch, spending five months doing ride-alongs with LAPD officers.
Okja (2017)
Directed by Bong Joon-Ho, who would later win several Academy Awards forhis movieParasite,Okjatells the story of a young girl, Mija (Seo-Hyeon Ahn), and her beloved pet “super pig” Okja. One of many, Okja is declared the best super pig by zoologist Dr Johnny Wilcox (Gyllenhaal) and is taken by pseudo-environmentalist Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) to be turned into meat. Bound for New York City, Okja becomes the target of Jay (Paul Dano) from the Animal Liberation Front, who joins forces with Mija to free the pig.
A cross between Ace Ventura and Steve Irwin, Johnny is unlike any character Gyllenhaal has played before; utterlybizarre and unhinged, he is the embodiment of a fever dream, and it is a delight whenever he is on screen. With his screechy voice, exaggerated movements, and “eclectic” fashion sense, Johnny provides comic relief for audiences and a lot of fun for the actor, who appears to be in his element playing him.
Stronger (2017)
Based on the 2014 Jeff Bauman memoir of the same name, David Gordon Green’sStrongerstars Gyllenhaal as Jeff, an ordinary man who lost both of his legs during the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013. Here he co-stars withTatiana Maslany, who plays Jeff’s on-again-off-again girlfriend, Erin Hurley, a runner in the marathon. Affected by the bombing in different ways and harboring grievances towards one another, the movie sees the couple try to repair their relationship as Jeff rebuilds his life from the ground up.
Gyllenhaal offers anincredibly raw, emotive performancehere that does justice to the real Jeff’s story. Whilst the movie is inspiring, it doesn’t romanticize Jeff’s struggle, and although he is a hero, the character is not without his flaws. A victim of circumstance, he spends a large part of the movie angry with the world and with Erin, who he was only at the marathon to support. His words, “Show up? Show up? I f***ing showed up,for you,” which are said in a fit full of rage, are a gut punch to viewers who empathize with both parties and the acting in this scene is something to behold.
