It's all in the eyes...
Many great actors have their quirks and facial expressions that set them apart from the crowd
But what Gyllenhaal does with his eyes sets him apart from anyone else.
You can watch any film of his and you'll find that his eyes always look different, and there's a reason to that...
You're not going crazy!
Gyllenhaal likes to add depth to his characters lifting them off the page and breathing life into them
He adds layers to his characters beyond what the script states, his eyes do all of the work the development if you will...
In
Prisoners there's something quite distinctive about Gyllenhaal's character Detective
Loki. About halfway through the film Loki's eyes begin to twitch
This was neither in the script nor was it discussed with director Denis Villeneuve prior to shooting.
It was something Gyllenhall created to give his character another layer. The twitching of the eye represents
Detective Loki's restlessness and obsession towards solving the case
But it also acts as a caution for the audience. Despite understanding the good that he means, we begin to fear for his health.
The fact that this can all be deduced from a twitch of the eye is a testament to Gyllenhaal's Brilliance as a character actor;
Gyllenhaal has gone on record to talk about his sleep and food deprivation while preparing for the role of Lou Bloom in Nightcrawler.
Not only was that done to create the effect of a caved-in face and unhealthily slim demeanor,
It was also done to allow his eyes to do the work yet again.
You see, Gyllenhaal's ability to create compelling characters is largely down to what the majority of audiences don't notice. In Nightcrawler consider
How his eyes have blown up.
It's a nifty visual aid for both his recklessness in pursuit of arriving to the scene first, as well as his disregard for the world
Around him. He's constantly on the prowl,
Hunting for the best shot of catastrophe. His eyes help the audience, whether consciously or subconsciouslym buy into the character.
It legitimizes the character, makes his actions seem genuine.
When you look at [side-by-side] images of Detective
Loki & Lou Bloom, the amount of work Gyllenhaal puts into the movement and shape of his eyes becomes evident. Notice how he looks tired,
with bags under his eyes, but still has that glint of someone pursuing justice.
Then look at Lou Bloom, eyes blown wide open in his pursuit of immorality and danger. Despite being played by the same character,
Gyllenhaal almost disappears into thin air when becoming these characters, they consume and overtake him
Lastly Donnie Darko: this film is a testament to Gyllenhaal's quality as an actor from a very young age.
In fact it shows that manipulation of his eyes is something that he's been doing for a very long while.
His eyes here are misty and hooded when he's under medication...
It makes him an almost unapproachable character
And this is before he begins to wield that axe. With the axe in his hands his eyes transform again the mistiness disappears
It's symbolic because the mistiness represents the control of medicine over his actions; when the mistiness clears, he is in control
And these
Subtleties using primarily just his eyes is why there are very few character actors currently working
who are on the same level as Jake Gyllenhaal.
This isn't just limited to the three films discussed.
In Southpaw his eyes are heavy and shielded and of course this is down to the physicality of boxing
But the eyes remained this way when he's around his daughter; his eyes are shielded because he fears the way she feels about him.
Shielded because he's still hurt about his wife's death. And the list honestly goes on, every film tells a different story
Relative to the narrative: from Zodiac to Enemy... End of Watch and Source Code. It's definitely prevalent.
The amount of depth, foreshadowing, thematic and symbolic relevance that his eyes add to a character is mesmerizing
Just talking about it makes you feel silly, right?
It's just his eyes! But it's what he does with them that makes his performances all the more better...
It's all in the eyes...