Never being a huge Jake Gyllenhaal fan, I had mixed expectations going into this movie and doubted the five-star comments on billboards I'd seen prior to the screening. But now, after watching Dan Gilroy's first directed movie, I only have good things to say about Mr Gyllenhaal.
Right from the offset you can tell that Gyllenhaal's character has an edge about him, an emotional detatchment that makes you feel like he wouldn't quite fit in with the wild nights and glamorous sidewalks of Los Angeles' bustling nightlife. Well spoken and overwhelmingly confident, he plays the part beautifully. Often engaging the audience with intense spiels, not once changing the unphazed look on his face. His unnerving way of talking to people and unsettling mannerisms makes you uncomfortable, and at times his blend of arrogance and slight social disposition add humour in what is otherwise a dark and twisted thriller.
He falls upon a highway incident in which a crashed car, up in flames, is in the hands of emergency services, attempting to save an injured woman who is trapped inside. A camera crew featuring Billl Paxton (Aliens, Twister) rush to the scene and don't hesitate to grab some close ups of the driver being hauled out of the burning wreck by police. Lou becomes intrigued, and in his desperation for employment he questions the camera crew once they'd caught their footage, quizzing them on job opportunities and how well the job paid.
Sporting a handy cam and a police transmitter (gained by pawning a stolen bicycle) he starts to grab some footage of local incidents himself. The nature of being a Nightcrawler excites Lou, the invasion of people's lives and personal space never seem to phase him. His issues with emotional detachment leave him oblivious to what moral boundaries he may be crossing. Constantly pushed back by local authorities and getting beaten to the scene by rival camera crews, Gyllenhaal continues to pursue gory footage. He lives on the phrase of which Bill Paxton's character, Joe Loder, said to him at the burning car, 'If it bleeds, it leads'.
The film is dark and dingy from the offset, it has witty moments at times, but never fails to return to the sweaty underbelly of the LA TV news industry. He gets his break after gaining some barely-legal footage from a carjacking and takes it to a local news station where the producer, Nina, played by Rene Russo (Thor and The Thomas Crown Affair) buys the footage and praises him for his work. This kickstarts two things; their relationship and Louis' desire to gain 'bloody' footage. He becomes fuelled by the stations ideal scenario, explained to him by Nina as "a screaming woman, running down the street, with her throat cut". Lou's growing ambitions see him hire an assistant, played by Riz Ahmed (Four Lions). They continue to race the emergency services to the scenes of crimes across LA, and sell the footage onto Nina.
There's also a real message being portrayed by this film too, it suggests that the news really is dictated by what people want to see, not what people should see. The crimes effecting "rich, white people in rich neighbourhoods" paper over the real problems on the streets of the world. Homelessness and drug abuse are unnoticed by the TV's eye and instead, prime time is filled with the most shocking (gruesome) incidents out there.
The film follows Lou Bloom on his quest to becoming what he saw at the start of his crusade. A self-employed, heavily equipped TV news feeder. His car improves, his clothes improve, he acquires new transmitters and a new camera. As his thirst for footage heightens, Lou begins to edit the crime scenes himself, moving pieces of the crime into the light to gain better footage and often before emergency services arrive. The film peaks at a moment where Lou witnesses a crime in action and instead of aiding the distressed victims, one of whom he finds alive, he ruthlessly catches as much bloody footage as possible.
Gyllenhaal shines in Nightcrawler, showing off almost narcissistic acting which I've only ever seen perfected by a few (Mathew Goode in Stoker and Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl). Russo offers a strong dynamic against Gyllenhaal and Ahmed adds humour along the way and contrasts Lou's emotional detachment. A fan of unnerving, nocturnal thrillers and brilliant twists? Watch it.
