Nightcrawler
Composite Score: 83.3
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed, Kevin Rahm, Ann Cusack, and Michael Hyatt
Director: Dan Gilroy
Writer: Dan Gilroy
Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller
MPAA Rating: R for violence including graphic images, and language
Box Office: $47.40 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Nightcrawler is Dan Gilroy’s film about a poor con man who starts to make a name for himself by shooting footage of violent and/or intense crimes in Los Angeles and selling them to local news stations. The film starts Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom, the titular “nightcrawler”, supported by Rene Russo as Nina Romina, the director of the news segment that Bloom sells to, Bill Paxton as Joe Loder, Lou’s inspiration and eventual rival in the nightcrawling game, and Riz Ahmed as Rick, Lou’s tragic and impoverished assistant who helps make Lou’s business a success. Gyllenhaal’s chilling performance as the sociopathic Bloom, the film’s exploration of our obsession with violence and spectacle, and its breakdown of the “American dream” have made it a sleeper hit of the 2010s, loved by many “cinephiles”.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
Nightcrawler is not a happy film about a poor man achieving success despite the cards being stacked against him. It is a cautionary tale about the impact of selfishness and our need to consume violent or disturbing content. There is no world in which I’d describe Nightcrawler as an easy watch, but I do think that it is worth watching – you’ve just got to be in the right place mentally and emotionally to watch it. Like many of Jake Gyllenhaal’s films, if you watch this and find yourself empathizing with the main character (“He just like me fr fr.”), then you should probably instead stop and do some self-reflection, especially for this one. Lou Bloom doesn’t even get the redemption arc that Donnie Darko does.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
Thematically, Nightcrawler tells a story that needs to be heard, not because of how uplifting it is but because of the truth it uncovers. Firstly, the film calls into question modern media consumption and our eagerness to seek out violence or devastation in the news (Nina describes their show as “a screaming woman running down the street with her throat cut”) or other media. On that level alone, Nightcrawler shows us how flawed that pursuit is, not only through Lou’s increasingly dangerous actions but also through the devolution of Nina in her pursuit of ratings. The film gives its audience those graphic images that they supposedly crave but not in entertaining or flashy ways; instead, it creates a strong sense of discomfort in the audience as they become aware of how voyeuristic, invasive, and problematic such obsession can be. On top of that exploration though, there is also the film’s critique of the American dream through the clearly immoral actions of Lou Bloom. Bloom is a poor man with no formal education, seeking to lift himself up by his bootstraps – the ideal subject for an American dream story – and he seemingly succeeds by the film’s end, achieving his goals, but the actions necessary to achieve true growth show the flaw in such thinking. It requires a “me over everything else” mentality that places no value on the lives or livelihood of others, a critique all too familiar in our age of billionaire space cowboys.
Gyllenhaal’s performance is the draw that helps sell Nightcrawler’s themes to the audience. His chillingly self-centered and disinterested performance remains one of the best and most underappreciated of the last decade (snubbed for a nomination by the Oscars so that Eddie Redmayne could win for playing Stephen Hawking). Gyllenhaal’s iconic thousand-yard stare takes on a manic note in this film as his vocalizations and facial expressions work together to create an antihero (or villain) to rival some of the best sociopaths and psychopaths in cinematic history.
Jake Gyllenhaal headlines Nightcrawler’s critique of the American dream and our preference for violent and disastrous media as the terrifying lead Lou Bloom, carrying the film to its gut-wrenching conclusion and a place among the Greatest Films of All Time. Though its cynicism and intense nature don’t make it a film for every day, the greatness of Gyllenhaal’s performance and the film’s poignant critique of modern culture serve to make it worth watching and rewatching. It is currently available to stream via HBO Max if you are looking to check it out for the first time or for a rewatch.
