Nightcrawler
Why you pursue something is as important as what you pursue.
This movie might’ve cemented Jake Gyllenhaal as one of my favorite actors
One of Nightcrawlers strongest points are definitely the performances. Jake knows how to portray this terrifying character that is Louis Bloom. We see his descent into his obsession for his profession. We also see Jake portray Lou’s extreme manipulation. Gyllenhaal does an amazing antagonizing, his facial expressions and body language are terrifying in this movie. I’d definitely love to see him in grittier roles just like this.
Lou is a really smart person, he learns fast, he said that himself. He obviously knows what to say and when to say it to get exactly what he wants. I believe that Lou is a cleverly written character, he obviously is a morally bad person, but how much so? The film also presents the idea that the entertainment industry, specifically the news, thrives by showing graphic material to its viewers, in a hope of having shock value as a means to get people to talk about it. So the villain isn’t really the videographer but instead the industry. It could also be a critique on the viewers for consuming that type of media, basically snuff films disguised as news segments. But yes Lou is still a bad person, he still exploited other’s tragedies as a means of money, and he still went too far with his means of reaching what he wanted.
I would also love to talk about Rick and Riz Ahmed. Rick would be a supporting character that helps Lou in his business. I think that the direction with Rick’s character went the best way it could go. Rick could’ve easily become this comedic relief character, who does nothing for the plot except give the audience a laugh. This could’ve been done with Rick’s inexperience in the work force, his youth, and his vulnerability. Instead we get a grounded character, who learns to speak for himself and learns the ropes of his job. Definitely also an amazing performance that needs to be applauded as much as Gyllenhaal’s. I first saw Riz Ahmed in his movie The Sound of Metal I thought that movie was great, and I thought that his performance in that movie was phenomenal. Ahmed did not disappoint at all.
Renee Russo also had a great performance, with a character that’s often overlooked. Nina is also passionate about her job, she also went through great measures to keep her job, she also broke morals.
The story is compelling, but also uncomfortable and pretty disturbing. The plot, combined with Lou’s chilling personality (most likely the result of antisocial personality disorder) make this film a terrifying one.
Nightcrawler gets a lot of its praise from its dark atmosphere, it’s something i’ve come to appreciate in movies. The technical aspects to this movie are really impressive, there’s so many good shots and sequences, with great visuals. It’s all amazing. The writing is also amazing even obtaining a nomination for best original screenplay. I do believe that Birdman was the better choice but hey, this was definitely my second.
This was one of my most anticipated movies of the year and it did not disappoint at all. I loved every second of it, it is close to getting that five star rating and maybe with a few more rewatches it will get there.