Nightcrawler (2014)

Nightcrawler is neo-noir thriller that sees Louis ‘Lou’ Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) – a down on his luck sociopath – stumbling upon the dangerous and cutthroat world of nighttime freelance crime journalism. As Lou Bloom films the murder and mayhem on the streets of LA to build his business and please TV veteran and News Director Nina, he starts blurring lines between reporting and creating the city’s most sensational news footage.

Overall Review Score

7 out of 10

Review

Throwing the audience into the fast-paced, high octane, slightly creepy and very gory world of nighttime crime journalism on the streets of LA, Nightcrawler delivers a dark, thought-provoking thriller that requires very little effort to watch. Jake Gyllenhaal takes on the main character, Louis Bloom, and delivers a stellar performance as business-savvy, highly intellectual, charming and equally unnerving sociopath whose motivations are nearly as dark and questionable as the shots he takes with his camera. However, despite the dark eerie and supremely unnerving nature of the film and the rich psychopathy of Louis Bloom – the film is let down by unavoidable mistakes and reoccurring, and equally unnecessary, swipes against the TV news business. Although while these mistakes can be somewhat excused as Nightcrawler is Dan Gilroy’s directorial début, they do let the film down considerably resulting in it getting a lower score than it could have otherwise achieved. Overall, despite these avoidable issues, Nightcrawler combines a fast-paced script, visually sleek backdrop, and clever character choices together to create a thought provoking neo-noir film that is difficult to criticise. It is a film that builds its own natural charm and charisma as it develops...making it one of the most unusual, engrossing and equally unnerving films of recent times.

Reviewer 1's score & comments:

Score: 7 out of 10

Comments:

Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a memorable performance in his portrayal of crime journalist Lou Bloom which is unlike any of his past roles. Not only does Jake Gyllenhaal capture Lou Bloom’s gentle and relaxed side, while he is shown onscreen talking with other news producers but also encapsulates the scarier, almost psychotic, manipulative side of Bloom as he tries everything to advance his career. Nightcrawler raised some serious moral questions throughout the film, most notably concerning how far journalists should go to capture and deliver a story. Though this was soon overshadowed when Nightcrawler began to develop into a much darker and disturbing thriller that really captured the feel of Los Angeles, by showcasing gritty road traffic collisions and triple homicides.

Reviewer 2's score & comments:

Score: 7 out of 10

Comments:

Nightcrawler is a film that is rather unusual. It blends multiple elements together in a piecemeal fashion that should not work – but somehow it manages to pull it off. Its use of upmarket LA as a backdrop to road traffic collisions, homicides and police shoot outs makes this neo-noir film visually enjoyable. While Lou Bloom’s charming yet evidently dangerous facade provides a creepy and unsettling element to the film that leaves the audience wondering what is awaiting around the next corner and how far Lou will go to get the next sensational story. Overall, Nightcrawler is a thriller with attitude – the nature of the film combined with the horrific accidents / crimes it portrays effortlessly showcases the acting credentials of Jake Gyllenhaal and leaves the audience on the edge of their seats.

#crime #thriller #jakegyllanhaal