Best movie of the year

Rating: 8/10 (30 November 2014)

Dan Gilroy makes an explosive directorial debut with, what could very well be, the best sociopath put to screen since Hannibal Lecter. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Louis Bloom—a smart, down on his luck thief who steals manhole covers and chain link fences to sell for scrap. After a night of thieving, he witnesses a film crew shooting the aftermath of a car crash. The following day Lou steals a bike and pawns it for a camcorder and a police scanner. He films a victim of a carjacking and sells it to the local news, thus starting his new career. Most of the films success lies in the writing and Gyllenhaal's excellent portrayal as the aforementioned sociopath. Louis will stop at nothing to get what he wants whether it be to advance his career or try to negotiate sex out of his boss, Rene Russo, the morning news director to whom Louis sells his footage. Nightcrawler is a great slow burn of a film, one that doesn't come along too often.