Review of Nightcrawler (2014) by Wesley W — 02 Feb 2016
An extremely engaging film from start to finish and one that I have no problem this time giving my highest grade to. Jake Gyllenhaal gives a completely phenomenal performance in this movie and it still baffles me that he did not get an oscar nomination for this role because it was highly deserving of one.
He played a fantastic anti-hero and he has a lot of fantastic dialogue that is memorable and quotable and you anticipate what he is gonna say next everytime he is on screen. In my opinion, it is the best performance of his entire career and the academy failed big time on their part to give him some recognition because I even thought this performance was better than the main performance in The Theory of Everything.
The story is highly engaging as well. Bouncing from scene to scene without any pacing issues or faults whatsoever. Every scene moves the story along in my opinion and there was never a single dull boring moment here.
This story about nightcrawlers who go out at night to film footage of crime scenes is one that has never been portrayed in film before and first time director Dan Gilroy hits all the right beats to make the movie intense, thoughtful, and gripping till the very end.
The movie also raises some questions on whether or not certain footage should be shown on the air and what is right or wrong when obtaining said footage. There are many things that Louis Bloom does where he starts doing illegal methods to get the story and the camera shots that he wants and these factors of his character are what made him a compelling anti-hero to watch on screen.
Rene Russo as the head of the news station also gave a great performance as well as a woman who wants to get the story to obtain more viewers. Riz Ahmed as the secondhand guy for Louis Bloom also gives an engaging performance as well and I really felt for him when he would be at odds with Louis and when he would feel scared at a certain moment.
The cinematography by Robert Elswitt here is fantastic and he gives us an incredible look to the city of Los Angeles that is as engaging as it is in Collateral and Drive. In the end, I love every aspect of Nightcrawler.
It is one of the top 5 best films of 2014 and I can't wait to see what Dan Gilroy has up his sleeve next after this film.
This review of Nightcrawler (2014) was written by Wesley W on 02 Feb 2016.
Nightcrawler has generally received very positive reviews.
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