Love It!!!!!

Rating: 10/10 (6 March 2017)

This movie rules. It follows Lou Bloom, who appears to be a thief, looking for work, a job, career, internship, anything. He discovers men ("stringers") videotaping a car crash and overhears one of them negotiating a sale price to a news channel. Later he sees the footage on TV, realizing he may be able to do this too. Thus begins Bloom's adventure in building a "succesful TV news business."
Why does this movie slay? Because every line bites with irony and wit. It blends genres and themes. It asks questions and prods the viewer to look inward and reflect as producers and consumers. To what extent, if any, is the audience responsible for actors like Bloom working in a capitalist economy. What accountability can be placed on the viewer who demands, values, and consumes the product Bloom delivers? Does the viewer have any interest in curbing that demand or consumption? Should Bloom's actions be regulated, restricted, or shamed? Maybe they should be praised and celebrated?
Answers to these questions fall in a gray area. And the movie does well to stimulate introspection and discussion by focusing on difficult questions instead of leading the viewer to form knee-jerk judgments and conclusions. Although the story brings out Bloom's sociopathic qualities, where the storytellers stand on preventing people like Bloom from thriving is not clear. Maybe a solution would include more protections, regulations, emphasis on family values, better law enforcement, consumer restrictions, censoring or limiting the media. Maybe Bloom is just a necessary evil that we should accept, a byproduct of the human condition, industry, and capitalism. Who knows...