Spoilers for Nightcrawler ahead…
Plot Synopsis
Nightcrawler follows the ambitious yet twisted freelance journalist named Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) who wants nothing more than to rocket to the top of LA’s newsroom power structure. He becomes a “nightcrawler”, someone who listens to a police scanner in order to film the aftermath of crimes when they happen, before selling the footage to a local news outlet. Things take a dark turn when Lou’s ambition outpaces his morals, mental health, and the law.
Acting: 5 out of 5
I’ve come full circle in my journey with Jake Gyllenhaal’s acting reviews; the first movie I reviewed was Prisoners (2013). At the risk of playing favorites, the standout performance once again goes to him, for the most unsettling portrayal I’ve seen in a long time. Here’s a compilation of some of his most deadpan deliveries. Gyllenhaal is a masterclass in how altering your physical mannerisms (in this case intentionally limiting his blinks and opening his eyes wider than normal) can build a character that feels extremely authentic.
Plot Intrigue: 3 out of 5
Nightcrawler isn’t even close to the longest movie I’ve watched this semester, but for some reason, it dragged so heavily in the middle. When paired with the director decisions discussed below, the movie felt like it ambled its way to its main commentary on media and consumer culture, taking many drawn out breaks along the way. Additionally, the movie creates a really strong plot build–or Lou’s descent–but the lack of quick scenes and shocking reveals made things feel remarkably one note at times.
I ended up enjoying this movie as a character study into Lou Bloom, and not necessarily as a plot-driven story.
Ending: 4 out of 5
The ending of this movie was beautifully executed. With the death of Lou’s closest friend and perhaps more importantly, Lou’s nonresponse while watching him bleed out, the audience understands just how far Lou has spiraled. My only complaint is the ending, which felt slightly gimmicky. It shows the classic “continuation of the cycle” with Lou repeating one of his first lines in the movie to his new team of staff. While it didn’t detract significantly, I was unpleasantly surprised that a movie that breaks so many other film conventions followed such a copy and paste ending.
Director Decisions: 2 out of 5
Dan Gilroy, the director of Nightcrawler, made a lot of bold decisions with his execution of this film. Unfortunately, I disliked a lot of them. The one that stuck out immensely to me was his use of musical score, which was deeply invasive and distracting. Additionally, the music frequently clashed with the emotional delivery of the scene. While Gilroy has suggested this was an intentional decision to show Lou’s disconnect with reality, it ultimately fell flat for me and detracted from Gyllenhaal’s performance.
The last critique I’ll give goes hand and hand with the plot intrigue. The filming of this movie felt extremely self-indulgent. Every scene or plot point had the same screen time dedicated to them, and the lack of variety in filming length really hurt the pacing of this movie.