According to a November 2016 Glamour interview, Ellie Bamber burst into tears after first studying the script for “Nocturnal Animals” over a bowl of pasta in a café. She recalled to the journal, “This pretty waiter comes over and says, ‘Are you OK?’ I used to be completely gripped by it. […] It legit took my breath away.”
The emotional impact of the script, which director Tom Ford tailored from Austin Wright’s 1993 novel “Tony and Susan” (through Goodreads), boiled down to 1 specific scene for Bamber, which she described whereas talking with Harper’s Bazaar in December 2016. First, she recalled the viewers’s response to the depth of “Nocturnal Animals” when the movie was screened on the Toronto Film Festival. She commented, “When that scene was completed, and I’m behind the automotive, there have been audible gasps. People went [sharp intake of breath], and it was actually loud. That’s form of the response I had.”
She then honed in on one particular scene within the film, whereby Tony Hastings has a serious breakdown whereas searching for vengeance for the homicide of his spouse and daughter. The actress informed Harper’s, “Reading about [Tony’s] breakdown is absolutely unhappy, and the way it impacts him, and the way he feels so powerless. I believe if anybody else was in that scenario and liked somebody that a lot, they might in all probability do the identical factor.”