A disturbing character study on the dangerous qualities of self-interest, determination and moral ambiguity.

Rating: 9/10 (12 April 2015)

Nightcrawler [2014] is the neo-noir crime/drama/thriller that stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom, a petty thief that is drawn to a career in L.A crime journalism. Driven by determination 'to make it' into being a supplier of crime footage for news networks, Lou blurs moral boundaries in order to succeed in his new profession.
Disturbing character motivations. Its thoroughly unnerving yet entirely fascinating to view characters put success and self-interest above all others. This is a tall-order to achieve in cinema, as they can appear as villainous subjects from a separate reality altogether. Morning news director, Nina Romina (Rene Russo) plays a complementary role to Gyllenhaal's facade. Nina is absolutely necessary for the narrative, as she is exposed to Lou Bloom's detestable Machiavellian way of viewing the world.
The subtleties of the great direction, score & script. Direction and script is courtesy of Dan Gilroy. It's his directional debut and great one at that. The score is engaging and instrumental to the narrative, and adds to the macabre atmospheric qualities of the script and direction.
Good show, creepy Gyllenhaal. He is terrifying as an eager to learn and grow sociopath. Striving to reach his dreams, we're taken on a journey to see this underdog try to make it in the crazy world of LA crime journalism. But damn, Lou is just so unnerving to watch. Gyllenhaal accomplishes a careful balance between trying to act like a sympathetic human being while being completely aloof and insincere. His body movements, line delivery and facial expressions all perfectly portray Lou in his true (character) form: an imposter. It's a shame that he missed getting nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in the 2015 Academy Awards.