Rent Nightcrawler (2014)
3.7 of 5 from 1333 ratings
1h 53min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Down on his luck Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) stumbles upon the dangerous, cut-throat world of underground world of freelance crime journalism - discovering that filming murder and mayhem can be a quick way to make a buck. Aided by Nina (Rene Russo), a ruthless veteran of TV news, Lou combs LA's seedy underbelly for the city's most sensational news footage. He soon discovers he's uniquely suited to his new job, but events begin to spiral out of control as one dark choice leads to another.
- Actors:
- Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Michael Papajohn, Marco Rodríguez, James Huang, Kent Shocknek, Pat Harvey, Sharon Tay, Rick Garcia, Leah Fredkin, Bill Seward, Rick Chambers, Holly Hannula, Jonny Coyne, Nick Chacon
- Directors:
- Dan Gilroy
- Producers:
- Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster, Michel Litvak
- Writers:
- Dan Gilroy
- Others:
- John Gilroy
- Studio:
- E1 Entertainment
- Genres:
- Thrillers
- Collections:
- 2015, A Brief History of Films About Television: Part 1, Award Winners, BAFTA Nominations Competition 2024, CinemaParadiso.co.uk Through Time, The Biggest Oscar Snubs: Part 2, A Brief History of Film..., Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 02/03/2015
- Run Time:
- 117 minutes
- Languages:
- English Audio Description, English DTS 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.40:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Audio Commentary with Dan Gilroy, Tony Gilroy and John Gilroy
- Behind the Scenes
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Reviews (14) of Nightcrawler
A brilliantly cynical swipe at the amorality of the television industry (esp US TV news) - Nightcrawler review by PV
This is a brilliant movie.
First off, there is a towering Oscar-worthy performance by Jake Gyllenhaal as Louis Bloom, the amoral, psychopathic, sociopathic, manipulative, soundbite-spouting, ruthlessly driven and charmingly optimistic small time thief who stumbles on a career as a 'nightcrawler' - someone who photographs and videos crime scenes, sometimes before the police get there, in late night LA, the sells the footage to the early morning TV news. Other characters are also interesting and well-played.
Second, the satire is sharp and true to life, with not only the TV industry exposed for what it can be at its worst, but also human ambition itself - and the American Dream too, which the Louis Bloom character is focused on chasing as he reaches for the top (and this character can only really be American in his ruthless optimism learned from internet get-rich-quick and succeed business courses). It's easily the best movie satire on TV new since Network in the 1970s.
The presence of 4 or 5 real-life US newsreaders must make this even more real for US audiences. But all viewers will at some stage realise, perhaps with horror, that what the sick amoral psychopath says is actually true - people (i.e. us) - do want more and more extreme footage on TV, and ratings go up when such 'corss-the-line' amoral videos are shown (on TV or online, where beheadings and other horrors are watched by millions).
Third, this is a really effective nail-biting thriller, where all violence is necessary to the plot and not gratuitous. I was hooked to the screen here.
One enormous plot hole, however, arrives when the police interview Bloom but do not seize his laptop, video camera, or check internet records. In the UK the police do this for trivial non-crimes (such as squabbles on Facebook, Twitter and email) - but then our police are becoming a bit like the Stasi as they crush free speech in order to boost their arrest stats. But I am sure in the USA the police are more draconian. There is no way therefore that Lou Bloom could hide his tracks.
Interesting name too, Lou Bloom - because this character is blooming in his life as he achieves the American dream by owning a TV company.
This is probably the best movie Jake Gyllenhaal has ever made. It's intelligent, slick, thrilling and a wickedly brilliant satire on the whole TV industry, especially the one in the USA - but it's also much more than that: it is a satire on our media-infused always-on news-junkie society itself, and especially the amorality of the American Dream and cut-throat ambition which over-rides any sense of morality to get what it wants. I have known people, some in the TV/media industries, who are like this and would sell their own grandmothers and watch their friends die to get ahead - so this is all frighteningly true.
A brilliant movie and a must-see. (It should win Oscars but probably won't due to its release date). 5 stars.
3 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Not for the faint hearted - Nightcrawler review by BE
Not usually my movie genre but watched on recommendation. Glad I did. Jake Gyllenhaal becomes Louis Bloom (the main character), giving a very noteworthy performance as a morally vacuous man cashing in on the blood thirsty deaths of his fellow human beings. JG obviously lost a lot of weight for this role thus enhancing his features as the sinister character he is. Very good.
3 out of 4 members found this review helpful.
Spoilers follow ... - Nightcrawler review by NP
The most horrific aspect of this film – and it is terrifying – is the fact that the main thrust of the storyline is not too far from the truth. The media, its lack of morals and sympathy for victims of crime, is attacked on no uncertain terms through the career trajectory of Louis Bloom, a small time criminal who has aspirations of success. Also included within the story’s framework is how the career options of someone from ‘the wrong side of town’ are only pursued with the aid of superhuman cruelty and lack of regard for others.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Bloom brilliantly, with piercingly wide-eyed intensity and a staccato delivery of lines of dialogue restricted to only the bare bones of the subject in hand, his intent and the likely outcome of his endeavours. Every conversation is presented as a last-minute business deal, like that of an eternal car salesman unable to switch off, but on a grand scale. Every intricately constructed audacity is accompanied by a wide smile, either of arrogance or warmth – either way, it is hugely disarming. Writer and Director Dan Gilroy has said that Lou exhibits all the traits of a sociopath, and is on the autism and Asperger’s spectrum, although nothing is ever addressed or specified. Instead, it is deliberately left to the audience to work out reasons for his manic social behaviour.
Employing the homeless Rick (Riz Ahmed), he hacks into police radio messages to gain access to crimes the moment they have happened – the bloodier the better – and films the results. Then he presents his footage to hard-nosed mogul, Nina, with whom he very logically points out he would like to have a relationship. She finds Lou’s complete lack of humanity appealing, and the footage he provides ensures they both appear to have a successful partnership, career-wise – but utilising methods so heartless, even seen-it-all-before Detective Frontieri (Michael Hyatt) is appalled. But Lou’s methods are so blatant and meticulous, she cannot do anything about him – he and his activities are, as it were, hiding in plain sight.
When Nina eventually gives into Lou’s ‘charms’, she accepts his employment opportunity and promotion almost as a sexual, spiritual thing, cementing not only his illustrious future, but hers as well, personally and (most importantly) as a business proposition. That the film ends with Lou and Nine thriving in their appalling way of providing news stories at the expense of anything approaching empathy, is telling indeed, and markedly close to the truth of such things.
3 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Critic review
Nightcrawler review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso
Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler is a twisted journey of one man’s ascension into a world of scum. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Lou Bloom, a desperate and devious individual smart enough to cheat the system for some cash. If he had a better sense of morality, he could become a legitimate success, but the seedy world of invasive crime scene photography was just far too glamorous. Strolling past a car crash with a cameraman poking his lense into the faces of the victims and paramedics, he knows at that exact moment what he wants to do with his life. Absolutely nothing will stop him in his quest for news footage fame no matter the cost fiscally, legally or morally.
Lou wastes no time researching a means of entering into the news capturing industry. He quickly pawns some stolen merchandise to acquire a camera and police scanner to get in on the action. He faces some stiff competition with a veteran of filming violence for the news played by Bill Paxton. Learning the limitations of the game, Lou begins making calculated and efficient moves to become the top dog of selling videos. He hires an intern with GPS so that he can focus on speedily getting to the crime scenes first. He slowly starts negotiating his fees with the station until it appears as though Lou is running a legitimate video production company. But with his competition having multiple cars and better equipment, Lou ends up taking a less legal route of shooting more exclusives. He sneaks into crime scenes, tracks down leads on potential criminals and keeps crucial evidence from the police so that he can arrive at an incident before it even happens.
Jake Gyllenhaal gives a frighteningly effective performance as an analytical madman. This is a man who knows exactly what he wants and hardly ever lets emotions get in the way or even show them. At one point he attempts to sexually pursue a news station director, but doesn’t even waste time trying to woo her with romantic words. He wants to sleep with this woman and literally attempts to negotiates his way into the relationship as if it were a business transaction. The few times we actually see him show some signs of humanity is when he becomes overly frustrated with his intern or starts slipping in his work. In a private moment, he screams in his bathroom mirror and smashes it to pieces. Later on when Bill Paxton’s character tries to coax the up-and-coming cameraman into joining his crew, Lou calmly states how he wants to beat down this man for bothering him with such a prospect. Lou has the calm face for people of the lunatic that dwells within.
What’s even more shocking than Lou’s behavior is how he’s actually one step ahead of other smarmy individuals. The world he delves into is filled with directors who will put anything on television for ratings, cameramen who will chew each other out like dogs and pushy investigators who watch the news people like hawks. And Lou has the brains to play every single one of them like a fiddle. He knows every trick in the book to get what he wants and narrowly avoids being prosecuted with every dangerous turn he takes. His timing is incredible as he seems to know when to start calling the shots on his fees, when to call the cops and when to conceal evidence.
The final thrill of Nightcrawler isn’t the expected conclusion that the character dies by his own sword, but that he actually gets away with it all. Every lie, deception and immoral choice he makes is crafted just finely enough so that it won’t come back to bite him. What’s so striking about this performance is that Gyllenhaal’s character never displays the fear of his very dangerous job. He witnesses first hand that those involved with this scene can easily be injured or murdered in the line of duty. At which point, you are fair game for another cameraman to get in your dying face. Even after witnessing this twice with people he knew, Lou continues his sleazy methods to get the best and bloodiest footage on television.
This type of character may face a horrible death in the future relating to his business, but he’s intelligent enough to survive longer than most intriguing movie-centric villains that rise and fall. This is a film all about the rise with no bloody shootout or going down in flames. We’ve seen that story before, but I’ve never seen a movie this intriguing that has enough faith to let the bad guy get away with his deeds. In a strange way, you want to see him succeed because he’s just so darn good at manipulating others. This is one of Gyllenhaal’s best performances of his career and certainly one of the most mesmerizing movies of the year.