Here are Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge last night in New York at The Public Theatre for their play(s) Sea Wall/A Life. The reviews I’ve read so far have been solid and both actors are being praised for their performances, with critics noting that Jake, who’s been focusing his attention on the stage as much as the screen the last several years, is “slowly building a theatrical resumé to match his work on film”. No but seriously, even though he was a dick to me at TIFF, on a work night for both of us, it’s undeniable the versatility he continues to show – he is at the top of his class, among his contemporaries there’s almost no one with this kind of range. Jake can sing, he can monologue, he’s Broadway and Hollywood, he’s indie and box office, he’s romantic lead and weirdo, he’s funny and he can be so, so, so dark. Leonardo DiCaprio, meanwhile, does one thing. But let’s not be petty.
Let’s instead enjoy this fashion moment because this suit on Jake… have we ever seen him in a suit this… off-beat? It’s not that it’s even that adventurous. It’s just that he’s never been all that adventurous with his clothes. Until recently. Recently there’s been a new flair. This suit isn’t at all generic. That pattern is… like cushions. Or pyjamas. I LOVE IT. I love him in it. It suits his personality – this is a quirky person inside the body of a heartthrob and now he seems to be dressing like it.
Also, the suit next to Tom’s hilarious Valentine’s Day sweater, which I also love, is the ultimate clash. And it’s a lot more fun being able to care about what men are wearing the way we care about what women are wearing. These are prints that we often see on women’s clothing: animals, hearts, flowers, swirly lines and angles. It’s represents the continual blurring between what’s been conventionally considered “men’s” and “women’s” fashion. It’s no longer “girls wear this” and “boys can’t wear that”. It could be read as encouragement for us to imagine a different set of gender norms. If this is how Jake is dressing for off-Broadway, I wonder what we’ll see from him when he starts the press tour as Mysterio for Spider-Man: Far from Home. Here’s what he posted for Valentine’s Day, by the way. These two are going to be GREAT in interviews together.