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| Title: | Nightcrawler |
| Director: | Dan Gilroy |
| Starring: | Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, Bill Paxton. |
| Genre: | Thriller |
| Runtime: | 1 Hours 57 mins |
| Music: | James Newtown Howard |
| Studio: | Entertainment One |
| Certificate: | US: R UK: 15 |
| Release Date: | USA/UK: October 31 2014 |
| See If You Like: | Drive. |
Written and directed by Real Steel story-man, and Bourne Legacy scribe Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler is a tense, twisting, edge-of-your-seat thriller with a powerhouse performance from leading man Jake Gyllenhaal (End of Watch); a different, dark, and multi-layered film about an out of work man who decides to break into the TV news business.
But Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal) doesn’t simply apply for a job like you or I would. No, after witnessing the filming of a car crash, he decides to buy a camera, and a police scanner, and goes looking to film the unfilmable; not only hoping to be the first on the scene and get the best shots to sell to the morning news networks, but blurring the line between observing the news, and participating in it; to the point where Lou is not only tampering with the scenes of accidents, but actively influencing stories before they unfold.
Like the car crashes, carjacking, murders, and home invasions Lou finds himself filming, Nightcrawler is impossible to turn away from, and a film which utilises every second of its near two-hour runtime to perfection in order to build not only a deep and multi-faceted character for us to follow, but draw us into Lou’s slightly twisted mindset, and the cutthroat nature of the business he’s entered; as while it’s clear there’s something off about Lou, one of the scariest things about Nightcrawler is the realism behind the impossibly cold, detached, ratings-driven news editors and producers who’ll do anything to get their shot, and the freelance “stringers” who spend their nights chasing death, courting misery, and trampling over anyone and everyone to get it.
Gyllenhaal delivers the performance of his career, and deserves full recognition during the next awards season, as his portrayal of the creepy, driven, morally ambiguous Lou Bloom is simply mesmerising (like the entirety of the film); not only did he go as far as to lose 20 pounds for the role (that’d be a stone-and-a-half in real weight), and end up giving Lou a distinctly slimy, and sickly, look which perfectly fits his slightly off-kilter character, but he’s excellent at delivering Lou’s fast-talking monologues, and has you not only fearing him, and being intimidated by him (Lou can be especially tense, and strong-willed at times), but spending a good deal of the film in awe of him (he’s so sure of himself, and the way in which he closes deals is exceptional), and wanting to be just a little bit like him, despite at times also feeling sorry for him.
Supporting stars were also well cast, and fill their roles well; Rene Russo (Outbreak) is fitting as the older-woman, and news director who’s somewhat past her time, and now clearly taking airing things she knows she shouldn’t in order to stay relevant; Riz Ahmed (Four Lions) is strong as the somewhat ambivalent protégé of Lou (appearing weak enough to be guided by Lou, but growing in his mistrust and moral convictions as the film moves ahead); and Bill Paxton (True Lies) is perfectly placed as the life-long stringer/cameraman who accidentally introduces Lou to the business (being as cocky, sure-handed, charismatic, and abrasive as you’d imagine); meaning every aspect of Nightcrawler’s casting was spot-on.
Not only that, but the lighting and camerawork were astonishingly good (it’s the best looking movie since Drive), shot after shot was perfectly arranged, and filming even sidelined sequences as if they were from a news-report perspective was a brilliant move (as was showing the entire film from Lou’s perspective), and James Newton Howard’s score was perfect; creating an edgy, circus-like, triumphant sound as Lou interferes with his first accident and gets his winning shot, mirroring the character by growing increasingly darker, and more sinister, as Lou and the plot Lou delved deeper, and continued to blur the lines between what was acceptable.
Nightcrawler’s ending may seem to come out of nowhere, but it’s not only the best way the film could’ve ended, but a testament to the writing, and Gyllenhaal’s exceptional performance, which mean the two-hour runtime simply flies by; as you’ll be so drawn into the tense and engrossing, but always slightly uneasy, world inhabited by Lou Bloom; you won’t be able to turn away.
A masterful, newsworthy, all-round triumph of a film, Nightcrawler is sleek, slick, a little bit dangerous, and has an edge like steel; propelled by a faultless, career-defining, performance from Jake Gyllenhaal, a fantastically gripping story, and the unflinching need to know how it’ll all play out; this is the best the LA cityscape has looked since Drive, a true must-watch, and a film which is deserving of recognition come awards season.
Matt Wheeldon – @TheMattWheeldon.
