Captivating viewing

Rating: 9/10 (13 December 2014)

At times 'Nightcrawler' is like watching a 'Best of Cops' episode. Two hours of non-stop action filled with brilliant characters and fascinating dialogue. Dan Gilroy wrote an excellent script and then finished it up with an equally impressive directing performance. But the real star, thanks largely in part to Gilroy's character creation, is Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role of Louis Bloom. From the moment we lay eyes on him we are hooked in and he never lets us go. Definitely his finest performance to date and I suspect an Oscar nomination could well be on the cards.
There twists and turns left right and centre and never a dull moment. Everything feels original (how refreshing is that), yet I wouldn't be shocked to learn that 2012's 'End Of Watch' (also starring Gyllenhaal) had some influence on this because some scenes come across very similar. Both are very fine films. There's a nice touch at the end where we are treated to a shot of the Hollywood sign amidst an ending that's anything but "Hollywood".