A Movie Review: Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler. Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhall) is near rock bottom. In order to survive, he steals various metal parts such as manhole covers and fences, selling these items at discount rates to unscrupulous construction managers.  There is also just something off in his personality.  He comes across in a controlled frenzied manner.  This is just someone you know will explode at any moment and you don't want to be around him when he does.  Unfortunately, some people just can't see that.

Louis drives pass a horrible accident and decides to stop.  An independent video crew (nightcrawler crew) arrives on the scene and starts to shoot video of the rescue.  Louis asks what they are doing.  Hoping for a job, he asks for one and is denied.  This doesn't stop him.  He pawns off a bike that he steals at the beach and buys himself a hand-held video camera and a police scanner.  He shoots video of a shooting victim and is able to sell it to a local news producer, Nina Romina (Rene Russo).  He soon makes a name for himself by taking aggressive, unethical and many times criminal actions to capture the gruesome violence that Nina wants to air.

What soon turns into a blackmail-like relationship between Louis and Nina really drives this movie.  Jake Gyllenhall plays his role perfectly as the near psychotic individual.  He also takes actions that you know will eventually land him in front of a judge and jury (be it during the movie or if this was representative of real life and was allowed to play out).  There is no desire to cheer on his character.  One can only have disdain for Louis.  One might think that Rene Russo's character would get some sympathy.  And in may ways she deserves some.  Here is an individual who used to be a newscaster and then as she aged she went into producing; however, she doesn't have the talent to succeed and finds herself drifting down the producer totem pole.  In order to stop her career slide, she swings for gruesome news porn.  This results in allowing Louis to manipulate their relationship.  She is the victim of a sinister individual.  Yet, on the other hand, she also deserves some disdain as we see an individual who purposely debases her journalistic standards for higher television ratings and to save her job.  Wasn't there another way? one has to ask.

Is this a feel good movie?  Not at all.  You may actual leave the movie feeling dirty, but I think that's the point:  you've spent close to 2 hours watching an individual doing wrong.