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:

Gone Girl

Every so often a book comes along that makes me want to tell everyone about it. I want them to feel the same rush I feel when I am engrossed in these spine tingling, page-turning books. I want them to feel the suspense and anticipate what’s going to happen next. I want them to gasp at the unexpected plot twists and become gripped by the thrill of the storyline. I want them to read Gone Girl.

Gillian Flynn’s bestseller is told in two narratives; his and hers. It’s a suspense-filled crime thriller that also looks at the idea that we never really know who we fall in love with.

The story begins with Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and dinner reservations are being made when Nick’s beautiful wife disappears. Nick quickly becomes the prime suspect when Amy’s friends reveal she was afraid of him. Strange searches on his computer and persistent calls on his mobile phone don’t help Nick’s case, and readers are torn between wondering if he really bumped his wife off or not. Passages from Amy’s diary showcase her as the ultimate perfectionist capable of putting anyone on edge. But who is telling the truth; Amy or Nick?

As the police investigation intensifies and the pressure mounts, all eyes point to Nick; his lies, his odd behaviour and his vague attitude to his wife’s sudden disappearance. Nick hardly qualifies as Husband-of-the-Year but is he really capable of murder? And if he didn’t do it, then what really happened to his wife?

Flynn’s dangerously dark and deeply intelligent writing, along with her trademark psychological insight, makes for a truly gripping thriller. She plays her readers with unreliable narrators resulting in dramatic and disturbing twists in the plot. Her style of writing is so good, so compelling and so thrilling that it really does mess with your mind.

Published in June 2012, Gone Girl is Flynn’s third psychological thriller. It was released much to the delight of fans and critics who were quick to praise the genius of Flynn’s writing. The Independent on Sunday described the book as; “One of the best US literary thriller writers to emerge in recent years…a truly great novel”, while Marie Claire said; “Flynn keeps the accelerator firmly to the floor, ratcheting up the tension with wildly unexpected plot twists, contradictory stories and the tantalising feeling that nothing is as it seems”.

Bought by Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Gone Girl will star Ben Affleck as Nick and English actress Rosamund Pike as Amy. Since the release of the official trailer and some on-screen shots, expectation for Gone Girl has been mounting. If you get a chance to read this spectacular book before the film comes out then do. I promise you won’t regret it!  The highly anticipated film will be released in Irish cinemas this Friday, October 3^rd.