There’s a gritty side of journalism that combines the fickle nature of tabloid news with the raw, visceral nature of life. You can’t deny that the competitiveness of getting the best angle or ‘lead’ with real life stories is a fascinating reflection of modern society. When your movie is about this world and your lead character is a textbook charismatic and sociopathic anti-hero played by Jake Gyllenhaal Nightcrawler is sure to grab some attention and hold it for the two-hour run time.
Using a long-form feature film to tell this story is interesting in itself. The predominant driving force of Louis Bloom’s (Gyllenhaal) motivations is to go out and find newsworthy crime stories for an audience that ‘snacks’ upon bite-sized pieces of gritty reality. Bloom films tragedies in the most gory and detailed way possible for news director Nina (Rene Russo) for her to use journo magic to manipulate a story out of the footage to drive ratings and attract viewers using fear as a weapon.
All of this is an interesting concept on its own, but it’s the intricate, calculated and manipulative ways of Louis Bloom that is the reason you are glued to the screen. He is smooth and cunning but we as the audience kinda root for him to win. As a driven man trying to find work in a world, Bloom turns to the world of crime journalism after witnessing a car accident first-hand. Soon he enlists the help of Rick (Riz Ahmed) as his ‘employee’ to help with listening to police scanners. The pair track down deaths or accidents and any chaos involving well-off citizens being attacked or killed by the poor (or by Mother Earth) or by coincidence… and filming it to sell to the news stations.
He is such a fascinating character to watch. Bloom drives the entire plot with his carefully constructed plan, executing it perfectly and not being surprised as his dialogue is filled with evidence of his research and planning and his justifications. He is trying to be the best in an extremely competitive field and this obviously unravels as we start to see just how far he’ll go and how determined he is to be the best as the film rolls on.
Directed and written by Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler is a compelling thriller that builds beautifully, executes a great third act and constantly raises the stakes. It’s a unique plot and your opinion of the film relies heavily on whether or not you like or even condone the actions of Gyllenhaal’s character.
This is where the film really succeeds. You have to admire a film that walks the line so well that it sparks a conversation as soon as you leave the cinema.
Now showing at Palace Electric, Dendy Canberra and Event Cinemas Manuka (Greater Union).
