A Nocturnal Horror Story

Rating: 8/10 (25 March 2015)

A creepy film that gets under your skin and stays there.
Jake Gyllenhaal gives a sensational performance as a skeezy loner who chases down crime and accident scenes in the middle of the night, films them and then sells his tapes to the rabid news media who know that the more sensational the story, the bigger the ratings. It's a depressing and depressingly relevant commentary on the obsession our culture has with news of the most depraved variety and the bottom feeders who profit by it.
The film brings to mind "Taxi Driver," though the character created by Robert De Niro is actually the more terrifying of the two. Travis Bickle thinks he's bringing justice to the world through his violent actions. He's the avenging angel on a self-imposed mission. Gyllenhaal's character, on the other hand, has no illusions about himself or his motive, which is pure greed.
I've never seen Gyllenhaal act as well as he does here, creating with his emaciated frame and raccoon eyes a nightmarish creature of the dark. Rene Russo (where's she been?) is also terrific as a news producer who becomes Gyllenhaal's primary customer.
I had some problems with the ending. It gets a little too Hollywood for a film that avoids the clichéd trappings of typical studio product. But it wasn't disappointing enough to mar my overall reaction to the film.
Grade: A