Nightcrawler Review

Dan Gilroy, writer of Real Steel and The Bourne Legacy, makes his directorial debut with Nightcrawler, a dark and powerful film about freelance journalism. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners, Donnie Darko), Rene Russo (Yours, Mine & Ours, Thor) and Bill Paxton (2 Guns, Titanic) this film will definitely leave you thinking after. Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal) is a thieving, unemployed man who becomes interested in filming crime scenes after seeing a group of people filming a deadly car crash. Eventually, Bloom decides to purchase a camera and a police scanner and begins doing the same. He even hires an assistant by claiming to be a very successful TV news business. Every time Lou films, he sends his work to a news station which pays well for his footage. As the film progresses, we see Bloom's descent into madness. He illegally messes with crime scenes, breaks into houses, and commits more unforgivable acts. Nightcrawler is a dark, tense crime thriller and Gyllenhaal's performance is easily the best part of the film. He last more than 30 pounds to give himself a coyote look and, like Sir Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs, he never blinks. Viewers might find themselves angered at the end thinking that evil has prevailed, but that's how the world is. Gilroy has also stated that this film isn't about good and evil. It's just a realistic portrait about what some people will do with a camera for some money. The film will definitely leave you thinking about footage that you sometimes see on the news. And it should.