REVIEW: Nightcrawler

Courtesy of Open Road

I can’t say I “enjoyed” Jake Gyllenhaal’s latest, a pitch-black satire about a sociopath who finds a perfect home in local television news, but it’s definitely a movie I respect. Writer-director Dan Gilroy experiments with narrative form, testing just how reprehensible he can make the main character while still maintaining the audience’s interest.

Considering I watched most of the film through my fingers, cringing in horror at the escalating devastation Gyllenhaal’s character leaves in his wake, I’d say the experiment produces fascinating results. Quite a few viewers will likely walk away disturbed by the experience, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes movies are designed to challenge our notions of the medium and take us out of our comfort zones.

Gyllenhaal plays Leo Bloom, whose gaunt form, greasy hair and wild eyes are an outward reflection of his despicable character. He’s a petty thief when we first meet him, but he discovers his true calling late at night on a Los Angeles freeway as he pulls over to watch two cops free an unconscious woman from a burning car.

Almost immediately, he’s shoved out of the way by a freelance cameraman who’s recording the carnage so he can sell the footage to one of several competing news stations. He’s profiting off the oldest cliché in the business: if it bleeds, it leads. Leo is instantly drawn to the world of these “nightcrawlers,” and muscles his way into the profession.

He starts out with a crummy camcorder and police scanner, but his eye for carnage leads to several big paydays thanks to Nina (Rene Russo), a news director who respects his work. He upgrades his equipment, hones his craft, hires an intern (Riz Ahmed) and scores a flashy car. But when work begins to dry up, Leo discovers that not many people care about the difference between observing events and staging them.

This might just be the best performance of Gyllenhaal’s career. He’s creepy, even feral, in his depiction of Leo, who makes up for his lack of social skills through voracious study of his field and its cutthroat business practices. It allows him to remain a vital asset to his superiors, even after they learn the harsh truth about who they’ve gotten into bed with. If he doesn’t get a Best Actor nomination, then Academy voters have officially lost their minds.

Russo, sorely missed on the big screen in recent years (aside from her bit part in the Thor films), is compelling as well. Her news director is tough, jaded and unafraid to tell her underlings that ethics don’t matter when ratings are at stake. Kevin Rahm (“Mad Men”) makes a strong impression as the station’s sole voice of reason, but he’s quickly steamrolled, as you might imagine.

Nightcrawler won’t be the most beloved film of the year. However, strong performances, a cynical take on the media, an ultra-dark sense of humor, and an unrelentingly tense final act work together to guarantee it will be one of the most memorable.

Nightcrawler is rated R for violence including graphic images, and for language.

Grade: B+