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Nightcrawler poster

CAST
JAKE GYLLENHAAL
RIZ AHMED
PRICE CARSON
MICHAEL HYATT
BILL PAXTON
KEVIN RAHM
RENE RUSSO

WRITTEN BY
DAN GILROY

PRODUCED BY
JENNIFER FOX
TONY GILROY
JAKE GYLLENHAAL
DAVID LANCASTER
MICHEL LITVAK

DIRECTED BY
DAN GILROY

GENRE
CRIME
DRAMA
THRILLER

RATED
AUS:MA
UK:15
USA:R

RUNNING TIME
117 MIN

NIGHTCRAWLER (2014)

Jake Gyllenhaal stuns in a career best turn as a different kind of creature of the night in Nightcrawler, writer/director Dan Gilroy’s relevant and absorbing thriller that speaks on the relationship between the media and bloodlust.

Watch the news. More often than not, it’s tragedy, death and despair that will be the “Top Story” and people will tune in, for violence equals rating and ratings equal money.

For Luke Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) this is a realisation that comes in the form of a calling. Not much information is given about this fascinating and creepy character. Wiry, bug eyed and with a determined optimism which he expresses through the worst kind of salesman/self-help-guru speak, Bloom is first shown selling scrap metal which he steals without remorse. He’s a bottom feeder, and the only rule for bottom feeders is to survive.

Makes sense then that he would find his destiny in freelance crime journalism, where the bloodier the footage, the bigger the bucks. You could call it ambulance chasing, but the goal is to get there before the authorities do, and when blood hits the ground these jackals scurry.

Atmosphere wise, writer/director Dan Gilroy does two brilliant things with Nightcrawler: the first was to base this story in Los Angeles, the “City of Angels” where for every dream realised a dozen nightmares take place; The second was to set the film primarily at night, where its combination of bloodlust and the creatures who feed off it creates a different kind of vampire movie.

Cue Jake Gyllenhaal, looking more Nosferatu than leading man stud, his shocking weight loss creating a monstrous character of hollow eyes and lean frame, unhealthy in body and soul yet driven by a determination that is damn near likeable.

Gyllenhaal has been on a role of late. From End of Watch, to Prisoners, to The Enemy, and now Nightcrawler, he has upped his game with every performance, and in doing so proving his worth as one of the great American actors working today.

Also making his mark is Dan Gilroy. While known as a screenwriter (Two for the Money and The Bourne Legacy amongst his credits), Nighcrawler finds him make that leap behind the camera and make quite the impression while doing so.

As well as being a terrifically paced, written and performed movie, Nightcrawler is also a very relevant picture about what the spectacle of violence does to both the mind and the soul. A key role is that of a no-nonsense news producer Nina Romina, played by Rene Russo in her best role in years that exemplifies why she was such a firecracker during her mid-late ‘90s run.

In many ways Nina and Bloom are villains. Their limited moral register and actions that stem from it surely fit the profile, although many have incredibly described Bloom as an anti-hero. Yet truth is they play the part of facilitators. Violence is their business and business is good, because it’s the public that’s buying.

Back in 1976, the late, great Sidney Lumet delivered one of his best movies, Network. It also took a hard yet satirical look at the relationship between the media and its audience. In Network, Peter Finch (who won an Oscar for his performance as an exploited news journalist gone mad) screams the iconic line: “I’m as mad as Hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”

Watch the news. Haven’t we all gone mad?

****

 

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