Movie Review: Nightcrawler

Now available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD is the film Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton and Riz Ahmend.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays the role of Lou Bloom. Lou is a small time theif who steals scrap metals and sells them at an L.A. scrap yard.

Lou is a bit peculiar. He talks as if he is very intelligent, but at the same time he does’t necessarily seem that bright either.

Desperate for a job he boldly asks the scrap yard manager for a job. The manager tells him that he would never hire a thief.

Later on that night Lou happens across a car accident. He pulls off on the side of the road to watch the events unfold. Lou also sees a freelance film crew on the scene. The man in charge, Joe Loder (Bill Paxton) tells Lou how he sells the footage to local television stations and make a lot of money doing so. Hearing this inspires Lou to want to do the same thing.

To raise the money for a video camera and Police scanner, Lou steals an expensive racing bike and trades it in at a local pawn shop.

Lou tries to learn the various Police codes and make his way to crime scenes to beat out the competition. He was successful in filming the bloody aftermath of a carjacking and is encouraged to sell it to a local television station.

At the station he meets the morning news director Nina Romina (Rene Russo). She offers to pay for the graphic footage. She also encourages Lou to continue to capture footage, most especially violent and graphic events that take place in affluent neighborhoods because those are the stories that sell the most.

Lou is determined to become the best freelancer in the area and even goes so far as to hire an assistant, Rick Garcia (Riz Ahmed). Rick is unemployed and desperate for money. He’s also mislead by Lou and made to think that he’s working for a successful company.

Late one night Lou and Rick hear on the scanner about gun shots in a wealthy neighborhood. They rush to the scene to discover they are the first ones there. Lou takes it upon himself to enter the home where he finds three murder victims, a lot of blood and even a gun. He films everything he sees including the men who committed the murder.

Lou turns in the footage to Nina, but keeps the film of the criminals for his own use.

Using the footage of the criminals Lou tries to track them down so that he can secure even more footage that will bring in the big bucks.

What will Lou do to get the footage that would make him the best freelancer in L.A.? Would he go so far as to eliminate the competition and stage crime scenes? To find out you need to pick up a copy of Nightcrawler, now available where movies are sold.

My husband and I really enjoyed this film. Jake Gyllenhaal did an excellent job playing the role of Lou. He even lost A LOT of weight to make himself look the role. Jake is normally a very handsome man but in this role he looked very haggered. His huge eyes added a bit of craziness to his sociopath character too.

It’s no wonder Jake was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.

There is a great scene involving a car chase that really got the adrenaline pumping.

This is a bit of a “dark” movie and not a “family friendly” one. Although there is no sex or nudity, the film is a bit graphic and violent for young viewers. I would recommend this film for teens.

This film is a nice mix of genres – crime, action, drama, thriller and even some comedy (Jake’s character is a bit quirky) and an attempt at romance (which doesn’t really pan out).

There are several bonus features on the Blu-ray including commentary and a behind the scenes in the making of this film, with cast interviews, called If It Bleeds, It Leads.

Here is the trailer for your enjoyment. Remember the film is no longer in theaters. It’s available for home purchase.

Kimberly

*I received a free screener copy in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.

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