Nightcrawler

Every so often a film comes along that leaves a creepy, spine-chilling feeling in the viewer. It leaves the mind wandering, questioning, doubting.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s intense performance in Nightcrawler is hard to shake off even hours after the final credits have stopped rolling and the cinema has been emptied.

The movie opens with Gyllenhaal roaming around grimy night-time LA as Louis Bloom, an ambitious but haunting character. Gyllenhaal’s appearance is noticeably different as he transforms himself physically for the role of Lou by losing 30 pounds and appearing bug-eyed and pale.

Lou stumbles upon a car crash and, transfixed by the TV news crew filming the tragic footage of a burning car and injured woman, Lou sees an opportunity. He gets hold of a cheap camera, a police radio and, before you know it, he’s crawling the streets of LA seeking out the worst crime scenes the City of Angels has to offer. He sells his footage to Nina (Rene Russo), a local TV station news editor who tells him quite honestly; “If it bleeds, it leads”. After receiving his first pay check Bloom is like an addict; unrelenting and determined to do whatever it takes to feed his addiction.

As Bloom becomes increasingly obsessed with his new-found passion the film gears up a notch as he races to crime scenes before the police can even show up. He is ruthless in his profession as a camera man and is prepared to sacrifice everything to get the best angle and footage he possibly can. He recruits an assistant in the form of Rick (Riz Ahmed), a nervy homeless man who displays morals Bloom is incapable of.

Rick and Bloom crawl the city’s streets by night eagerly anticipating the next gruesome crime scene they can record. As Gyllenhaal’s character becomes increasingly consumed and equally infatuated with manipulating crime scenes and capturing the most gruesome footage he portrays a blatant disregard for ethics or morals of any kind.

Writer-director Dan Gilroy raises important questions about media ethics when tabloid journalism comes under fire as Bloom disregards the rules and embodies everything a journalist should not be.

Gyllenhaal is captivating in his role as the cunning Lou Bloom. He is the determined, albeit ruthless, antihero we love to hate. Credit must be given to the powerful acting skills of Gyllenhaal who manages to keep the audience on his side even as his character steps up his merciless and relentless tactic, resulting in appalled admiration from the audience.

Nightcrawler delves into the seedy, sleazy side of journalism and exposes a side to the media we sometimes choose to ignore. But this is Gyllenhaal’s show and he well and truly steals it with a brilliantly dark and cold-hearted performance depicting the often cruel and callous nature of modern day journalism.

Nightcrawler is in cinemas now. Check out the trailer here: