7) Demolition – Car Crash
Going into Jean-Marc Vallee’s existential drama Demolition, you’ll already know it’s about an investment banker – Jake Gyllenhaal’s standoffish Davis Mitchell – attempting to see life in a new way as he gets over the death of his wife Julia. What may still surprise you is how suddenly, how callously Julia is dispatched.
The beginning of Demolition doesn’t offer a vision of domestic bliss, exactly, but at least a look at a day in the life of a young, good-looking, vaguely bored married couple. Davis and Julia are driving through NYC, chit-chatting about family squabbles and leaking fridges… then WHAM, a car comes out of nowhere, pulverizing the Mitchells’ car and killing Julia seemingly instantly. Not two minutes into the film, Vallee jolts you out of your seat.