I avoided Nightcrawler when it was initially stirring around because I thought it was some sort of X-Men spin off. Of course, once the positive reviews came flooding in and I realised that it wasn't about a flexible mutant, but about a man who becomes obsessed with filming violent street crimes for the news, I became interested.
Nightcrawler is a brilliant film and manages to do everything right. At the centre of it all is Jake Gyllenhaal's sensational performance as Lou Bloom. He's surely the most ruthless businessman since Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood, although his autistic characteristics make him far less charming and compelling. Nonetheless, Jake completely morphs into the character and delivers a performance well worthy of an Oscar. His slimy grin is enough to make anyone's skin crawl and he's totally devoid of any moral compass, however you can't help but admire his knowledge and ambition.
The film clocks in at almost two hours but not even a second of a scene is wasted. After a fast-paced first half where we witness Lou's rise into the crime filming industry the film takes a slower, yet stronger approach in the second half where we focus on one particular case which is sure to shock. There are some wonderfully tense scenes towards the end of the film where I could not take my eyes off the screen. It's almost as if you're there in the street with the characters.
I loved how the media was so cynically portrayed here and the underlying themes of how voyeuristic society has become are relevant and dealt with well. The media is a ruthless business and it's great how the news values of having white, middle-class people under attack is put on display.
There's very little to fault with Nightcrawler. Not only is it intelligent, but it is also thoroughly entertaining with an engaging story and captivating main character who is sure to become a cult icon. Jake has never been better and some aspects of his performance are truly chilling. It's just a wonderfully made film and one which I hope to revisit fairly often.
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