Nightcrawler Review

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo

Nightcrawler is one strange movie. While walking out of it, I was asked if I liked it. And the thing is, I couldn't come up with an answer until I really thought about it. There's always that conflict between "liking it" and the quality of the movie. I like some really bad movies. And I didn't enjoy some really good movies. Everybody does. Nightcrawler is an interesting movie. Without a doubt, it's extremely well-made. There are no holes in the plot, and every character fulfills their role. But it just made me feel extremely uncomfortable. And it wasn't because of anything displayed onscreen. It was just weird. Jake Gyllenhaal gives a spectacular and unforgettable performance as Lou Bloom, an antisocial obsessive man who is unhealthily driven by the desire to make a living and a name for himself in Los Angeles. By any means necessary. He becomes an freelance cameraman, and goes around town filming crime scenes while getting the best footage, to sell it to a news company. His demands become more frightening, and his tactics terrifying, when he will do whatever it takes to get the best footage, even committing crimes himself.

Lou Bloom is a strange man indeed. Usually I try and diagnose characters if they don't specify mental illness, but I couldn't even tell you what he has. He's one of the weirdest characters I've seen. This guy blinks maybe five times in the whole movie. I think Gyllenhaal's performance far outreaches the quality of the film. By this I just mean Gyllenhaal is the movie. He's in every single scene, and the best scenes are when he's completely immersed in this character. His best scenes are his interactions with Rene Russo's character, who is the morning news director he sells to. A quote she says which sums up the movie's message is "To capture the spirit of what we air, think of our newscast as a screaming woman, running down the street with her throat cut." So the more gory and horrifying the story, the more it sells. One of my favorite parts of the movie, was when Lou invited her to dinner with him, and he asked her to become his partner and sleep with him. And threatened to never give her another one of his stories and allow her to be fired if she doesn't agree. Of course, she didn't agree to it, but that scene perfectly illustrated how cut off from reality he is, and how little skills with people he has.

So if you want to see Nightcrawler just be warned that it's one weird movie. If I think about it, then I guess the movie was really good. I just can't get past the creepiness of it. Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Ruso both give excellent performances, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them getting some awards recognition from smaller circuits. I don't think either could make it to the Oscars, because I think the subject matter of this movie is just too strange for the Academy. But if you're a fan of Gyllenhaal, this is definitely one of his best roles.

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