Doesn't Live Up To Potential

Rating: 5/10 (27 November 2014)

I felt obligated to write a review because I felt all of the negative reviews focused on the wrong aspects of the movie.
First I want to take a step back and state that based on the trailers, any viewer of the film should have been aware that they were going to be dealing with a psychopath as the main character. I thought Jake Gyllenhaal's performance of this character was extremely well done. No one should have a problem with this. Furthermore, throw realism out of the window. The amount of obviously illegal things Lou Bloom does without getting caught is nearly insulting, so the ending didn't surprise me whatsoever. On the other hand, I'm getting frustrated by the amount of people labeling this as a "brilliant satire." If anything, I suppose it could be a very poorly written satire. I would say that there are indeed satirical moments in the film, but I think it'd be more appropriately labeled as a thriller infused with dark comedy since the entire piece simply doesn't function as complete satire.
I have another huge qualm with the score. I don't know how everyone isn't commenting on the corny score of the movie. A film such as this needs a powerfully ominous score, and while you could cite the score as being a catalyst for the satirical model of the film (for example when the triumphant music plays while Bloom moves the body), I could counter with the fact that this film is not wholeheartedly satirical.
I'm a fan of satire, but I feel that if the film presented itself as a dark expose of what Lou Bloom does for work, with the satire being COMPLETELY driven by the script itself, then it would've functioned quite well. Otherwise, it was underwhelming, but worth giving a look for the sake of Gyllenhaal's performance and very gripping cinematography.