Set within the neon-lit nocturnal backdrop of LA, Jake
Gyllenhaal gives a brilliant performance as Lou Bloom, a creepy insomniac in
search of a job. After witnessing a TV news crew swarming a burning car wreck,
Bloom buys a video camera and drives around as a freelance “nightcrawler” in
search of crime footage to sell to news corporations.
Gyllenhaal’s 30-pound weight loss(less drastic than Christian Bale’s emaciated frame in The Machinist(2004), but certainly intended for a similar psychological effect) gives him a gaunt, manic expression – he is a compelling contradiction; a loner, insect-like and volatile, yet driven and ambitious, often found spouting clichéd corporate jargon.
Gyllenhaal’s 30-pound weight loss(less drastic than Christian Bale’s emaciated frame in The Machinist(2004), but certainly intended for a similar psychological effect) gives him a gaunt, manic expression – he is a compelling contradiction; a loner, insect-like and volatile, yet driven and ambitious, often found spouting clichéd corporate jargon.
Centrally, Nightcrawler is an intelligent satire on sensational
journalism. Both dark in theme and colour palette, the film depicts an amoral
and fetishized obsession with violent imagery in the media. When Lou visits a
local station, he meets the editor(Rene Russo) who shows an interest in his
apparent flair for capturing sordid images; her station’s precept being “a
screaming woman running down the street with her throat cut”.
As the narrative unfolds, newsgathering methods become increasingly extreme. The compulsion for finding more intensely graphic content is typified by the voyeuristic extreme camera close-up – where real life, or more aptly, real death is reduced to dramatization. Screenwriter-turned-director Dan Gilroy masterfully engages with these themes, placing Nightcrawler within a gritty, Michael Mann-esque, neo-noir hyper-reality. Riz Ahmed gives a very strong supporting performance as Lou’s assistant who gets inadvertently entangled in the central character’s morbid occupation whilst Rene Russo’s Nina is tough and uncompromising, desperately trying to save her failing network.
As the narrative unfolds, newsgathering methods become increasingly extreme. The compulsion for finding more intensely graphic content is typified by the voyeuristic extreme camera close-up – where real life, or more aptly, real death is reduced to dramatization. Screenwriter-turned-director Dan Gilroy masterfully engages with these themes, placing Nightcrawler within a gritty, Michael Mann-esque, neo-noir hyper-reality. Riz Ahmed gives a very strong supporting performance as Lou’s assistant who gets inadvertently entangled in the central character’s morbid occupation whilst Rene Russo’s Nina is tough and uncompromising, desperately trying to save her failing network.
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