'Nightcrawler' A Review

Nightcrawler is a LA crime thriller about a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps sociopath who discovers then excels at night time freelance videography of crimes and accidents for local news. Louis Bloom(Jake Gyllenhaal) is a thief, scrounging scrap metal and personal items to make a living. He drives past an accident on the highway and encounters a group of guys filming it for the local news. He buys a camera and his life is changed forever.

Gyllenhaal's performance stands at the focal point of a relatively unoriginal piece of neo-noir. It is unarguably intense, focused, and striking. His already large eyes bug out of his gaunt head, his unblinking stare adding palpable menace to his non-stop self-help jabber. He is undoubtedly successful in his portrayal of this success-by-any-means under-educated overly-intelligent creep. The character is interesting but there is never an explanation for any of his actions, no reasons, no real exploration of personality. We feel no empathy for him. We do not care one way or another if he succeeds, if he fails, even if he were to die.

The film tries very hard at being what it is, the effort is clear not only in Gyllenhaal's performance but the dialogue, the motivations, the obviously manipulated machinations of the plot. It pounds away repeatedly on the theme of sensationalist media. It, seemingly, wants us to believe the story of Lou Bloom is the modern American dream punctuating scenes of his negotiative successes with a melodramatic triumphant score. Ultimately it provides nothing by way of conclusion save vague nihilism.

Confused, interesting yet unappealing characters, with a thesis ripped straight out of 1976's Network.

Don't See It.