Prospecting cinematographic history!

Rating: 9/10 (22 November 2014)

I loved Nightcrawler, probably my movie of the year(tagged with Interstellar), that said, I feel like with just some tiny changes it could have been something much more.
This is a character driven movie, indeed its also a performance driven one and Jake Gyllenhaal does a fantastic job bringing the character to life. Its almost like the theme of the movie is evoked in the way we feel about Bloom, we are disgusted by him but can't help but wonder what he will do next. Seeing protagonists who are this complex and sadistic is a fresh of breath air among the linear and goody two shoes we see on screen. Acting is great all around and the characters are all interesting, developing in interesting ways, more or less every major character has an adaptive role.
Plot starts out a bit random, seemingly Bloom is stealing and selling but its not very clear if he is also a murderer or just commits battery(he attacks a police officer in the beginning and we don't see what happens). He then randomly stumbles upon a scene where he finds his calling. However once the plot picks up, it holds a good pace, with him upgrading his equipment and archiving his achievements. He has a truly one track mind and the way the story evolves is perfect for showing this. There could have also been a little more done to link the ending to our world, while its interesting that its subtle, perhaps a more chilling reminder of the ruthlessness of such people rather than just a quick showing of their rise through the ranks would have helped me take this movie home with me.
The shooting in this movie on one hand does a great job at making us feel close to Bloom but there are some missed opportunities with the way his deeds are shot. Especially Ricks last scene, it was possible to pull off a much more wide angle with Bloom and Rick fully in the picture to better capture the manipulation. In general giving the viewer a few more distant shots would help us better feel the distance Bloom feels from other people.
Despite some lost opportunities, this is a great movie depicting the vicarious nature of news, highly recommended.