One thing that I always hear in the underground horror community is "if you want to see true horror, watch the news". We're all people and we all have that morbid curiosity. When ever we see a car crash on the highway, we can't help put stare and the metal carnage. And as long as we have those thoughts, there is always going to be people to document those events. And these people are known in the media inner circle as Nightcrawlers.
I've grown up watching Jake Gyllenhaal evolve from film to film. After watching "Prisoners" with Hugh Jackman, from a a couple of years ago, it is great to see Gyllenhaal doing films with a darker tone, like "Nightcrawler". Seeing him in films like "Donnie Darko" and "Zodiac", it's always a treat to see him bring those characters to the screen. When I saw the TV spot for "Nightcrawler", I knew this is something I can't miss.
"Nightcrawler" takes place in the city of Downtown LA. We meet Louis Bloom (Gyllenhall), a sociopath who is trying to make a quick buck by stealing whatever he can, and then sells them off. While driving back home, he notices a car crash in the side of the freeway. He pulls over and we see two CHP officers trying to pull a lady out of a burning car. As CHP are doing their job, we a see a van pull up and a camera crew pops out to film the accident. After the rescue, Louis goes up to one of the camera crew, Joe (Bill Paxton), and asks him about the work he does. Joe tells Louis all about nightcrawling. "If it bleeds, it leads", this pretty much sums up about this career. When Louis sees the money that can be made from this, he goes out and gets himself a camcorder and a police scanner. His first night Nightcrawling was a total disaster. Whenever he tries to record any police activity, he always gets chased off by cop. Then finally, Louis was able to get some footage when he arrived at a crime scene, where someone got shot during a carjacking. He was able to sell the footage to Nina (Rene Russo), who manages all footage in the late shift, for Channel 6. Louis has now found his calling in nightcrawling. So now he begins to start his own news video company. He hires poor bloke by the name of Rick, to be his assistant. Sadly, Rick has no idea what Louis is going to put him through. And what Louis is paying him, it's totally not worth it. Whenever there's a major incident heard on the police scanner, Louis tries to get there before Joe and his Mayhem Video crew get there first. And whenever that happens, he takes it out on Rick. Desperate to capture any footage or a certain shot, Louis would do anything to have the best shots and angles. The closer he can get into the incident, the more the news stations will pay. And because of this, Louis is able to get Nina to pay him what ever he wants for the footage. And with all the money he's making, Louis is now able to buy better equipment and a faster car. As each day goes by, Louis now has a better understanding of the nightcrawling and tv news business. And then of course the way he's able to take advantage of people in desperate situations. Like with Nina. Louis found out about her contract with the station. He knew that his videos were giving the station high ratings, so he was able to get certain "demands" from her for him to be exclusive to Channel 6. Then we got Rick. A man who has nowhere to live, only trying to make some cash. Only for Louis to put him dangerous and immoral situations. During the last scenes, we see what little care Louis has for human life. That dialogue that Louis tells Rick pretty much sums up what kind of chone Louis is. The harm that Louis is willing to put people through, just to capture a curtain shot on video is just shameful.
I would love to get in more details about the ending, but that is for you to see for yourself. If there's a updated version of the dictionary, and you look up "sociopath", chances are you might see a picture of Louis Bloom's face. If someone has already said this, I apologize, But that's the best way I can describe Gyllenhaal's performance. This movie is very dark (and not because the scenes were shot at night), and shows the ugly side of the media. If people didn't care for such violent images while watching the news, then people like Louis Bloom wouldn't have a job. But because ratings show that people actually tune in for those segments, then these televised carnage will be continued to be shown. Anyhoo, the movie was great. As much as I despise the character, I really enjoyed Gyllenhaal's performance. The way Dan Gilroy was able to capture Los Angeles at night was fantastic. I also enjoyed the script. When Gyllenhaal says "what if my problem isn't that I don't understand people, but that I don't like them". When I heard that line, I was like "holy shit!" Just as Jerry Janda (writer/star of Painkiller) said, "The greatest performance as a sociopath ever?". And of course Riz Ahmed. I just felt so bad for his Rick character. So if you enjoy Jake Gyllenhaal's more darker performance, then check out "Nightcrawler". That ending makes it worth it, too.
