Nightcrawler (2014)

[Plain Old Tele]

Discuss.

[Noctis]

As dark as the night.

[redfirebird2008]

Great movie.

 

Had no idea Robert Elswit did the cinematography until I saw his name in the opening credits. He did a great job as always and no wonder the TV ads have such good visuals. Luckily for the audience, Dan Gilroy as a first time director doesn't do anything silly to downplay Elswit's talent and Gilroy makes a lot of good choices on camera angles. The red Dodge Challenger was a great choice by Gilroy. Badass car!

 

Gyllenhaal's performance is excellent. Very creepy guy but also very intelligent. He did some pretty surprising things in the film. A true "step on others to get ahead" kind of guy. I liked the film's commentary on news media. Seems like the trend for sensational reporting just keeps getting worse. The climax of the film is awesome.

 

A- (9/10)

[AdamKendall]

Great movie, fantastic performance from Jake.  Some of those scenes with him and Rene Russo were so utterly cringe worthy in the best way possible. 

 

9/10

[Jack Nevada]

One of the best films of the year. Reminded me of vintage Scorsese. Maybe slightly rough-around-the-edges but that doesn't make it any less potent.

Love the satire, love the cynisism and holy crap what a performance from Jake Gyllenhaal.

Lou Bloom is such a fascinatingly creepy character that you just cant take your eyes off of him. The guy is a total amoral sleaze. It's a character piece, really. Bloom is a mere crook in the beginning but he becomes increasingly monstrous as the movie goes on.

Gyllenhaal, all man-bun and bulging eyes, has rarely been better.

Edited November 3, 2014 by Jack Nevada

[DeeCee]

Bad.

[mattmav45]

Gloriously seedy as fuck.

 

You don't come across these type of films very often, and yet there's nothing quite like a film driven almost solely by a prevalent mood or tone.  Inject a mood, let it simmer and boil, and watch as some damn good cinema ensues.  At times it is best to let emotion, mood, and tone drive the film's story, and thankfully for the viewer such is very much the case here.

 

The mood on display here is injected at the very start of the film with that damn cool introduction.  Reminiscent of the introduction of Alien, the camera zooms over, around, and through the night streets of Los Angeles.  What a great way of not only establishing the atmosphere and mood of the film, but also establishing the playing field of where the film will prosper.  It is a rare moment when as a viewer that I am sucked into a film in the opening minutes.  Suffice to say this introduction did the job for me and had me anticipating what was to come.

 

The story begins with Louis Bloom living as some kind of night vampire among the LA streets.  Not much is known about Louis at the start. He seemingly meanders through the night streets without any real purpose.  In these early moments I couldn't help but think of Louis as a parasite looking for his host.  Transgressing through the night streets, Louis is searching for anything to live off of.  Unfortunately for the characters in the film, he finds his host in the form of independent video journalism.

 

There are a couple of dynamics at play here that allow the viewer to go in two different directions with this film.  While a scathing meditation on the modern media is part of this film's greatness, to me this is all about Louis.  More specifically, I view this as a character study for one to completely immerse themselves in.  In fact, it is through the character of Louis that insights and commentary about the media can be found.  The musings on the media are merely a complement and accentuation of the character of Louis.  What a brilliant handling of cinematic dynamics on display here.

 

Regarding Louis, we see an individual who on appearance alone comes off as snaky, oily, and quite frankly slimy as fuck.  I for one loved how his character was developed.  Starting with the base of his surface appearance, throughout the run time we are able to peel off layer and layer of character of Louis.  Granted, we may not always like what we find, but nonetheless we are unable to look away.  The natural and nuanced progression of Louis as he digs and buries himself deeper into this dark night world is nothing less than an intoxicating watch.

 

The time has come to mention Jake Gyllenhaal here.  It's been hard for me to wait this long, but I feel mention of his performance has to be the clincher of the review.  This has to be, in my opinion, the performance of his career to this point.  Sure, the character of Louis is pretty damn rich to begin with, but it is Gyllenhaal here who masters not only the look of his character, but the nuances needed for him to rise above the metric.  I won't say any more as this is the kind of performance needs to be watched rather than described.

 

Dark, grimy character study highlighted by a fantastic performance from one of the best in the business.

[Empire]

Saw this the other day and I loved it. Jake gave such a fantastic performance playing such a creepy scumbag. He truly made me believe he would do anything to get a great video. The end with the chase had my heart pounding. I think this is probably my favorite movie of the year so far. I really hope this gets some awards consideration.

I would give it an....

A(96)

[Kvikk Lunsj]

Terrific acting but with a terrible screenplay. 

 

The more I think about this film, the more I dislike it.   Jake Gyllenhaal saves this film  with his best performance to date. Jake really made lou his own character. Lou was creepy and had no connection to anyone. Lou faked his emotions through out the film. Lou is sociopath and  reads online how to act in front of people by reading self help  articles. Lou doesn't know how to  have a connection with another person. As the film progress,  the viewer witness how lonely and disconnected lou is.

The screenplay is a mess and the character motives are just plan the stupid.  The third acts was a disappointment and this is where the film takes a nose dive  Why wouldn't the police investigate Lou for the murders.  He is the only witness to the sense and he tells the police that he dd not have footage of the vehicle that he saw. He just walks around the house and never calls the police.  He also ran before the police got their. The last 5 minutes were such a disappointment.  The police talk to for five minutes and have him leave and then he goes on his happy way. 

 

2.5/5 

[baumer]

Shockingly brilliant.  Jake nailed nailed nailed it.  He'll be nominated as well, I think.

 

The story and the script imo are terrific as well.  Rarely has there been a character who is this smart and this diabolical and yet really doesn't break the law, until the end.  He is slimy and unscrupulous but he lives on the right side of the law.  I kind of loved the film.

 

9/10

[JohnnyGossamer]

Shockingly brilliant.  Jake nailed nailed nailed it.  He'll be nominated as well, I think.

 

The story and the script imo are terrific as well.  Rarely has there been a character who is this smart and this diabolical and yet really doesn't break the law, until the end.  He is slimy and unscrupulous but he lives on the right side of the law.  I kind of loved the film.

 

9/10

I mean, he does break the law in the very first scene. And, again, when he knowingly withholds evidence later. But, I loved it as well.

[baumer]

I mean, he does break the law in the very first scene. And, again, when he knowingly withholds evidence later. But, I loved it as well.

 

Yes, I forgot about the first scene...lol

 

When he withholds evidence, to me, that is the end of the film....the last act at least.

[Cmasterclay]

In my top three of the year, and it'll end up in the top eight somewhere. Brilliantly clever and deliciously original. Don't see there being five better performances this year than Gyllenhaal by a long shot. Lou Bloom is a wonderful and potentially iconic character in a Travis Bickle way. I haven't stopped thinking about it for a week, which is one measure by which it absolutely kills it. 

[Kvikk Lunsj]

So I'm the only one who didn't care for the film.

[JohnnyGossamer]

So I'm the only one who didn't care for the film.

I doubt you're the only one... I do think it was a pretty vicious satire of amateur news hounds. So... The ridiculous nature of the proceedings didn't phase me much. That said, you're points were well taken.

[AniNate]

I don't feel like this film had anything particularly interesting to say about journalism and I'm starting to tire of the "faux-awkward" mannerisms of sociopathic characters. I really think a more obviously intimidating actor would've been the way to go here. I just don't buy Gyllenhaal's character being able to charm his way to the top, and the immoral things he did to get the shot stopped being surprising once he shoved his camera in a victim's face near the beginning. Easily the most forgettable film I saw today even though it was the one I saw last.

Edited November 8, 2014 by tribefan695

[Water Bottle]

Pro:

The film does tension really well.

The third act saved the film: it was truly phenomenal because the film finally snapped into focus. Everything from Jake breaking the window in anger (which I'm pretty sure was added not because the writer wanted it but because it was a studio note since it served as a visual act break) to the end was compelling and captivating.

It had nice visuals and a good score.

 

Cons:

The first two acts were at best average, middling with only a few moments that stand-out. The plot often felt like it was pointless and most of the characters were forgettable. This is why I didn't feel sad that the assistant/partner who died at the end was dead. Indeed, it was even dull at times.

 

The First Two Acts: C-

The Third Act: A

The Whole Film: B-

[lilmac]

B+

 

 

Jake's performance is Oscar nomination worthy.  Good film!

[Blankments]

Enjoyed it thanks to sharp direction and Gyllenhaal's best performance yet. Something was missing though, and IDK what. A

[Spidey Freak]

The first half could have been much tighter but the second half and Gyllenhaal deliver on such a level that I think this qualifies as A-