Jake Gyllenhaal's Performance Delivers

Rating: 7/10 (8 November 2014)

If you're looking for an absolutely amazing character study of a sociopath, Nightcrawler is exactly what you need. This is the directorial debut of Dan Gilroy, and while you can see areas where he needs to tighten up his work, overall it's extremely impressive.
Probably the most impressive part of this film is the performances and writing. The films characters are very well written, and the actors completely deliver it perfectly. Jake Gyllenhaal gives an Oscar worthy performance in my opinion. He plays Lou Bloom, a man who is extremely manipulative and will do anything to get what he wants to be successful. But he isn't your run of the mill kind of guy. He's a total sociopath. We are given little scenes where we see him interacting with people or just doing things inside his apartment by himself that perfectly build up his character. Gyllenhaal is amazingly intense and completely believable, and I can't say enough good things about his performance. Rene Russo also gives a performance as a woman who is also quite demented in her own way. I also think Riz Ahmed did a good work as Gyllenhaal's side kick who works with him. Overall the cast is just great and is a massive strength for the film.
I think the film has a very interesting theme being looked at throughout. It's essentially about the lengths people will go to get what they want, make money, and keep a job. We see it in Gyllenhaal's character because he will steal and lie to get what he wants, and we see it in Russo's character because she will use graphic footage and try to make a story seem more scary to the public than it is in order to keep her job at the news station where she works. Perhaps it's some kind of commentary on how the working world is today. People don't have job security like they used to, and people have to work hard in a cutthroat world. It all really works and is well thought out.
Now one big issue I had was with the soundtrack. Now, during some moments it works and has a dark tone, but in other moments it doesn't work and is too upbeat feeling, such as the car crash where Bloom does a little "fixing" to get the shot he wants. What we are seeing is very dark but the music doesn't fit, and honestly I think it does a major disservice to Gyllenhaal's passionate performance. I think it would have benefited from a more dark score
Overall I would highly recommend this film for Gyllenhaal's performance alone. It's absolutely amazing to see. I hope to see some more great work from Dan Gilroy because this film shows he has some big potential.