Nightcrawler [Blu-ray] [US Import]

Fantastic. Jake Gyllenhaal is simply brilliant as a psychopathic loner, down on his luck he survives by stealing chain link fencing and selling it to an unscrupulous site manager. He just cannot get his foot in the employment door, so with interest he witnesses a car crash and his first stringer, a night crawler who vampishly videos the wreckage and broken victims, to sell onto a news station. Soon he is scanning the police frequency band and dashing off to the juiciest disasters with his video camera.Jake Gyllenhaal simply exudes this role through his pores, he is Lou Bloom, alone in his shabby dwelling, ironing his shirts and watering his solitary plant, while watching his horror stories on the ambulance chasing news stations. He has no interest or empathy for other people, the victims are just objects to be taped and sold, his apprentice, a great dim-witted Riz Ahmed, is a mere appendage, hired for his GPS cell phone, $30 dollars a night salary and second camera. Rene Russo is a knock out as the sleezy and desperate station manager, 'screw morality is it legal?' she enquires of a lawyer as they watch Lou Bloom's blood spattered opus, a home invasion and triple murder.The black comedy piles on and on as Jake Gyllenhaal liquidates his rival, an excellent Bill Paxton, whose brakes he sabotages and then videos bloodied and broken on a stretcher. The murderers in the home invasion he tracks to a restaurant full of civilians, where he dials 911 and calmly sets them up to be taken down by the police, which he and Riz Ahmed video all the time. Lastly he rids himself of his untrustworthy and constantly winging employee, giving Riz the all clear to camcord the dead criminal, who of course is alive and armed with a handgun. Ghoulishly Jake tapes Riz's last moments and berates him for his unfair bargaining position.When he edits and shows Rene Russo this latest thrilling blood soaked spectacle, Rene literally melts with pleasure, the faces come close, the voices lower to a murmur, Lou gets his huge bonus and the woman of his dreams. In the last scene Mr Bloom has attained the American Dream, he is President of Video Production News, with several unpaid interns, and 2 night crawler vans. Akin to Network, the 70's film lampooning the shallow nature of US news, this is a satire to be savoured.

This is not a film you are necessarily going to like, but it is a very good film, a union of a powerful idea, a compelling (though unpleasant) main character, and some exceptionally deft directorial decisions.Jake Gyllenhaal plays a sociopath with aspergic tendencies who learns online, and applies his learning in a way which is entirely lacking in empathy or conscience. At the start of the film he is clearly down on his luck, and has our sympathies as a man who just can't get a break. As it progresses, we begin to question whether we have picked the right guy, and, by the end, there is a certain level of horror at his success, and what this is likely to mean for his new employees.The story could have been directed a number of different ways, and would easily have made it into steamy 9½ weeks territory. Instead, it is shot without any kind of voyeurism—an interesting visual critique of its subject matter—and kept largely to night scenes. There are certain similarities with Macbeth, in terms of how we only gradually come to realise that the protagonist is entirely evil.I hadn't realised that this was an acclaimed film when I started watching it, and only discovered afterwards that it was an Oscar nominee, and winner of numerous minor awards. In retrospect, it doesn't surprise me. This is a film with a lot to say, and which says it all by showing not telling.Unpleasant, but superb.

Jake Gyllenhaal is outstanding in this dark, seedy, atmospheric crime thriller which creeps under the skin in entertaining fashion.He plays Lou Bloom, an odd fellow who appears to find his calling in life one night after stumbling across a traffic accident and observes a freelance film crew filing the aftermath and arranging to sell it to a news station. One stolen bike and quick trade for a police scanner and camera later and our boy is up and running as a "nightcrawler" chasing through the LA night looking for newsworthy crimes/accidents and their bloody aftermath.Gyllenhaal is in almost every scene and carries the load exceptionally well in an oddball role, embodying a repellent but strangely intriguing character. There's an interesting supporting cast of characters such as confrontational fellow nightcrawler Bill Paxton, slightly sleazy TV exec Rene Russo and whiney but sympathetic assistant Riz Ahmed.Things build steadily as Lou slips further into this new lifestyle before a game changing happening amps things up and sends us racing towards the endgame. It's all shot rather stylishly and the LA streets come to life during the endless nights. There's the odd turn in the plot to keep things interesting and some real urgency in the latter stages, building to the conclusion. Overall, a slightly odd but compelling film and well worth a look.

My daughter is very happy with her birthday gift.”