Inspiring us to reach higher.......

Rating: 9/10 (10 November 2014)

An ambitious young crime journalist probes the dark underbelly of L.A.
Lou Bloom is a petty thief in search of a payday when he stumbles onto the scene of a grisly car accident, and witnesses a seasoned "Stringer" gathering video footage for a local news broadcast.
Convinced that this is a career he could excel at, Lou purchases a police scanner and a video camera, and hits the streets.
As a fast learner with an eye for detail, Lou isn't above manipulating a crime scene in order to get a picture that tells a story.
When he beats the police to the scene of a deadly home, his shocking footage catches the attention of two homicide detectives who suspect he's hiding evidence that could be crucial to their investigation.....
When watching this masterpiece, I noticed during the scene where Gyllenhaal is bargaining with Russo over money for the house invasion footage, how much he looked like Count Orlock from Nosferatu. Bug eyed, almost clinging to himself and even framed in the same way and then it struck me.
It's the best vampire film ever made that doesn't feature a vampire.....
Lou is more alert, more prominent at night, and he prowls the streets if L.A. Looking for his next 'victim'. But instead of feeding on their blood, he stores the footage and feeds on their bleeding and pain.
Gyllenhaal portrays the sociopath with such genius, that at times, you almost forget that Lou is human, as the only real emotion he has is rage, but the writer doesn't dwell on the fact that he is angry. The audience know that he is responsible for one of the acts in the film, but the narrative doesn't need to explain it, that's how well Lou is fleshed out.
Bloom is like a mix of Rupert Pupkin, Patrick Bateman, Norman Bates, and Raymond Babbitt, and to say that this is Gyllenhaal's finest hour doesn't give the actor enough credit.
The film does feel a little familiar though, as if I was watching an early nineties thriller melded with elements of Manns Heat, Manhunter, and Collateral.
The score is wonderful, and the support is brilliant also, Russo hasn't been this good in over 15 years, and Ahmed has chosen a wonderful breakthrough role.
Belief the hype, its one of the years best, and you'll be thinking about for days after.
Tense, funny, scary, and highly original.