The new film from screenwriter and first time director Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler is not only a brilliant and amazingly fun satire but also an incredible confirmation of the talent in Jake Gyllenhaal, an actor whose career has taken an incredible turn over the past decade or so. He has proven to be the leading actor version of Christopher Walken. That is, he plays kooky with such an incredible bite and with such enjoyable self seriousness that he's always an amazing screen presence. Credit also goes to Gilroy, who directs the film with the kind of direction that is never seen done anymore. He uses set pieces in the same vein that Alfred Hitchcock did, like with Mount Rushmore in North By Northwest and his ease with tension suggests a reincarnation of The Master of Suspense as well.
In the film, Gyllenhaal plays Louis Bloom, a dedicated and ambitious young man looking for any type of work available. One night, he drives past a car crash and sees renowned cameraman Joe Loder (Bill Paxton) shoot some footage. This inspires him to hire an assistant, Rick (Riz Ahmed) and sell footage to channel 6 news director Nina Romina (Rene Russo.) However, he gets in more than he initially expected when he goes too far in his ambitions.
In a lot of ways, Louis is a mix of two classic Robert De Niro characters--Rupert Pupkin from The King of Comedy and Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver. Louis's scary amount of dedication to get ahead in the world is very reminiscent of Pupkin while his way of saying things that are completely psychotic but come across as articulate and intelligent is a lot like Bickle. Gyllenhaal plays menacing with an amazing ease and he never goes too over the top with it. As well, Paxton, Russo and especially the underrated Ahmed are excellent supporting players.
The film's satire comes from the idea that to get ahead in the world today, you have to be willing to do so by any means necessary. Bloom doesn't just run himself into the ground, he does so with great glee and motivation. However, as previously mentioned, he's so articulate about and so aware of his own craziness that it's hard not to maintain a rooting interest. He never comes across as a villain of any sort, although his awareness to his insanity makes it all the more intense.
Gilroy writes the film with very witty dialogue and some of the best ironic humor my ears have ever heard. He also knows how to have the characters talk realistically even as the situations get increasingly fantastical. The direction is amazing, taking the audience right along for the ride. As Louis is taping these horrific crimes, the audience feels right there with him. It even feels scarily close for the audience when the footage is cleverly shown through the lens of Bloom rather than directly to the audience.
Nightcrawler is a terrific, spectacular, jaw dropping, powerful film that also manages to be surprisingly fun and darkly hilarious considering its grim subject matter. I'm sure come Oscar season the Academy won't even consider nominating Gyllenhaal for his work simply because of how creepy of a performance it is. However, it's a performance of great depth and intensity that should definitely be acknowledged by all and so is the film.
(5 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for violence including graphic images and for language)
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