'Nightcrawler' Review

"You wanna get in the lottery? You have to make the money to buy the ticket."

'Nightcrawler' is a new thriller from writer/director Dan Gilroy. The film revolves around Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal). Lou is a dark individual who makes money off of small petty theft. After many unsuccessful job applications, he comes upon a car crash being filmed by a small crew of cameramen (led by Bill Paxton). He discovers that these men are "Nightcrawlers"; they film the disturbing after-effects of violent crime and sell it to whatever the highest bidding news station is. Lou becomes very interested in this field of work, buys a cheap police scanner and camera, then begins on a path that leads him to emotional fulfillment, a partner, well-earned money, a nice car, along with complete and utter insanity.

The first thing to note about 'Nightcrawler' is its tour de force performance from Jake Gyllenhaal. This could very well be his finest work to date. To prepare for the role, Gyllenhaal lost an unhealthy amount of weight, shunned himself from friends, and received little to no sleep. His ridiculous commitment to method acting is shown in all its full glory by the movie's final act, but up until that point, Gyllenhaal does a terrific job balancing subtlety with true terror. Some of his creepiest moments are his quiet conversations with his partner within the confines of their car. You never know what could make him lose his mind. He's the very definition of a ticking time-bomb. While the rest of the cast is fine, they can't help but look like they're just trying to play catch up with the film's lead. Luckily, Lou Bloom is the focus of this movie and with the exception of one or two slow moments, he is within every single frame.

The film's look and overall atmosphere is also something to be accounted for. Dan Gilroy shoots Los Angeles beautifully, and shows off its dark underbelly in a way I haven't seen in a film for years. The use of fog along with black, white and grey colors throughout the night sequences really give it a distinct noir flair. James Newton Howard's music is also quite interesting. It feels somewhat upbeat and sounds as if it should be placed in an episode of 'Friday Night Lights' rather than a dark crime story. Yet, the contrast between the images and the music makes for some truly unexpected frightening moments. Sadly, I think the music does undermine some of the film's heavy moments near the second half. This was a similar problem I had with 'Gone Girl'. While the soundtracks for each of those films are terrific, I do feel like some scenes would be far more affective without them.

For such dark and disturbing subject matter, 'Nightcrawler' feels far more fun than it probably should be, but that's what I ended up loving about it. There's a sense of humor and light-heartedness throughout the picture that too many directors pass up on in this post 9/11 era. There are many films spanning through many decades that you could compare 'Nightcrawler' to; however, the most recent and interesting one is 'Gone Girl'. Both focus on unsympathetic main characters, have underlying messages about media's response to crime, and are both filled with wild senses of humor. The question I asked myself after leaving the theater for 'Nightcrawler' was: "What did I like better?" After letting it settle, I came to the conclusion. While Fincher's latest is more thought provoking and is extremely masterful in its own right, 'Nightcrawler' has a simplistic feel that you don't see in modern studio pictures too often. It runs at less than two hours, has a focus on one singular character, and features thrills that feel straight out of the seventies 'grindhouse' era. 'Nightcrawler' just works a bit more because it makes usual unsettling images so insanely fun.

Grade:A

Review by: Josh McCormack