Taxi Driver meets Network

Rating: 8/10 (3 April 2015)

Jake Gyllenhaal creates one of his most unique characters in Nightcrawler. This is a movie that will remind you of some of the best movies of its ilk from the 1970s. This is essentially Taxi Driver meets Network, updated for the Internet/24-hour news cycle generation. It asks the same moral questions that Network asked. And it shows the dark underbelly of LA, which like NY in Taxi Driver, is just another character in this movie.
As Lou Bloom, Gyllenhaal is mesmerizing to watch. It will be hard for you to take your eyes off of him. As the creepy Nightcrawler, he gives an amazingly controlled performance. Rene Russo and Riz Ahmad provide great support. In particular, British actor Ahmad is very good, and very credible, as an Angeleno. The cinematography captures the LA nightlife beautifully.