Nightcrawler (2014) Review

Review by: Brandon Fu
Directed by: Dan Gilroy
Rated: R(for violence including graphic images, and language)

Nightcrawler tells the story of Lou Bloom(Jake Gyllenhaal), a nightcrawler, or rather a person who goes around at night filming crime scenes and selling that footage to news stations. Eventually, he becomes so good at his job that he begins to break the law himself.

Let's just put this out there, and state the obvious. Jake Gyllenhaal is incredible. Probably the best movie performance of his career. He plays Lou as if he is a person who has a very systematic way of doing things. Whether it is negotiating prices, filming crime, or just having a conversation, he does not seem human. If creeps the living shit out of me. For some reason you want Lou to succeed, and it is really difficult to differentiate between the good and the bad in this movie. Lou is so weird, and it only elevates Gyllenhaal's performance. I didn't see Jake Gyllenhaal. I saw a guy that creeped the shit out of me. And when I can't differentiate between a character and an actor or actress, that actor or actress should recognized for it(maybe an Oscar?).With all the past movies that Gyllenhaal has done, it is really difficult to understand why he hasn't been recognized by the Academy, except for one nomination. With movies like Zodiac, Source Code, Prisoners, Donnie Darko, and Enemy, Jake Gyllenhaal is definitely one of THE BEST actors and Hollywood and hasn't been properly recognized for it.

The supporting cast in this movie is also great. Bill Paxton plays a rival nightcrawling business owner, and is the antagonist(?). Rene Russo also plays the news director of the channel Lou sells to, and she also did well in this movie. The only performance that was not up to par with the rest was of Riz Ahmed, who plays the assistant to Lou. I'm not saying it was bad, but it was not on the level of what it could have been with that character.

This movie is also shot well. The streets of LA have never looked so good (except for maybe Drive), with bright colors and somehow empty streets.

Overall, Nightcrawler is one of the best movies of the year, and should be nominated for many Oscars, but is only nominated for one(best original screenplay, which is bullshit by the way). Jake Gyllenhaal brings in one of the best performances of the year and of his career. If you haven't seen this movie, you are missing out on one of the best experiences of the last year.

4.75/5