Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler is a crime thriller directed by Dan Gilroy and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, which follows the hidden industry of how news footage is gathered. After struggling to find employment, Lou discovers a new career and becomes dangerously obsessed with filming crime scenes to sell to news stations. Jake Gyllenhaal is incredible, and its one of the rare instances where an actor completely disappears into a role. Everything from the fast pace of his lines to his gaunt appearance due to his weight loss for the role is perfect and creates a fascinating character that you can’t stop watching. Riz Ahmed also gives a great performance, and successfully brings dark comedy to many moments in the dialogue. Its script is one of Nightcrawler’s greatest assets due to the strong character development given to Lou. His character is extremely creepy and psychopathic, to a point where you don’t know whether you want to support him or not despite him being the main character. The excellent writing somehow manages to make Lou both the protagonist and antagonist of the film, which is not an easy feat to achieve. The cinematography is particularly commendable due to the large proportion of the film that is set at night, which is very difficult to make visually appealing. The film is quite repetitive, as we are shown how Gyllenhaal’s skill at and obsession with this job progresses, which makes the second act drag a little. However, this slow progression is necessary in order to create the explosive and incredible third act that Nightcrawler has. You cannot believe your eyes as you realise how twisted Lou has become and the stakes reach a horrifying height. Nightcrawler is not for the faint of heart: graphic and detailed shots of murdered families and car accidents are repeatedly shown and never stop horrifying the audience. The social commentary on how obsessed we are with crime and gory details is prevalent in the film and leaves you feeling uneasy about what you see on the news and how it is generated. Unethical journalism is never something I have considered, therefore this film was truly eye-opening for me. Nightcrawler is one of the best thrillers of the decade and if you enjoy this type of film, you must watch it.

Nightcrawler is a very intense movie, strengthened by the authentic acting of Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays the lead Lou Bloom, a freelance cameraman trying to infiltrate the world of television. It could be seen to be commenting upon the ethics of tv broadscasting, summed up perfectly with the quote “If it bleeds, it leads” and Lou’s overstepping of boundaries as he alters crime scenes for the benefit of the camera, careless about the victims and his ‘sidekick’ Rick, played by the fantastic Riz Ahmed. Although the film isn’t revolutionary, and can drag on at times, I think it has a good message about the lengths humankind will go to simply for glory and money.