Nightcrawler
NIGHTCRAWLER (18)
D: Dan Gilroy
Bold/Open Road (Tony Gilroy, Jennifer Fox, Michel Litvak,
David Lancaster & Jake Gyllenhaal)
US 2014
117 mins
Crime/Thriller
W: Dan Gilroy
DP: Robert Elswit
Ed: John Gilroy
Mus: James Newton Howard
Jake Gyllenhaal (Louis Bloom), Rene Russo (Nina
Romina), Riz Ahmed (Rick), Bill Paxton (Joe Loder)
Jake Gyllenhaal is wickedly sinister as a misanthropic
loner in this atmospheric crime thriller. He plays Louis Bloom, who embarks upon a career filming paparazzi-style footage of crimes which he sells on to the highest bidding news
channel, managed by career-driven executive Rene Russo.
He soon develops a taste for the macabre work, even going
as far as manipulating the facts he shares with the police so a pair of murderers stay on the loose, so he can push his prices up even further with his exclusive footage.
The dark subject matter will certainly not be to
everybody's taste and some similarities will be made with 2011's Drive (which shared some of the same producers).
Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo deliver their finest
performances here, and were without doubt robbed of Oscar nominations. They easily make what could have been a very awkward watch rather mesmeric along with some excellent photography from
cinematography Robert Elswit.
One of 2014's best.
8/10
