Nightcrawler

This is one of those films that come along every once in a while that make you wonder why can't all writers be this original? It is a very small idea turned into a very crazy two hours of entertainment. I do feel that Jake Gyllenhaal may be one of the best working actors today. He rivals the likes of Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, and Tom Hardy in my opinion. This is one of his best roles and it should earn him Oscar gold, and at the very least, a nomination. All the buzz that surrounded this film had me so intrigued I chose to go see it as soon as I could, only to realize I had no idea what the premise was. I knew Lou (Gyllenhaal) was a freelance video journalist, but other than that, it was kind of set up as a thriller. It was about 70% thriller, but it was mostly him adapting and evolving into the best, not necessarily most ethical, video crime scene journalist working in LA. I will say, there was not a single time Lou was on screen that I felt comfortable. In fact, this may have been the most uncomfortable I have ever been in a theatre. His character is just off a little and the writing was so good, we as an audience, didn't know if he was going to come unhinged and hurt someone or if he really was just an anti social, awkward man who just really enjoyed the career he had become so fond of. Lou has an outlook on life that many won't understand. The word sociopath comes to mind. The first hour of the film is pretty slow, but very intriguing. The second half of the film is fireworks. The direction is beautiful and very reminiscent of Drive with Ryan Gosling. Every aspect of this movie was very solid, yet I don't know many people I would recommend it to. I think people will enjoy it, but I also wonder how many will hate it because of its tone and tempo which I had to get used to during the film's first act. The ultimate goal is to understand how far Lou will go for the big story.

NBM rates Nightcrawler - Phenomenal