By Lindsey Schibelhut, Staff Reporter.
If you’re in the mood to see an edge of your seat thriller, then the movie “Nightcrawler” directed by Dan Gilroy might just be your ticket. “Nightcrawler” is the new film starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Louis “Lou” Bloom. Bloom is a streetwise charismatic thief, who makes his money in the scrap metal business. After a failed attempt at talking his way into a job at the scrap metal yard he sells to, he witnesses a car accident at the side of the road on his way home. For some reason he is drawn to exit his vehicle to get a closer look. As he approaches the scene, a camera crew pulls up and he gets his first real look at what it takes to be an on the beat “crime journalist” in Los Angeles.
After realizing the lucrative money a crime journalist can bring in for being the first at the scene of a crime, accident, fire, etc. and getting the crucial footage needed to run on the air at news stations; Bloom embarks on a journey to start up his own crime journalism business. He starts saving the money he gets from theft, to purchase equipment such as: camcorders and a police scanner in order to be first at getting on the scene footage and outcompeting his competition Joe Loder, played by Bill Paxton.
The film is shot in such a gritty way that the audience is drawn in from the opening sequence of the movie. At first you are trying to figure out what type of person Bloom is, but once he starts going to the different crime scenes, the real action begins. You feel as though you are in the car, going to capture the footage along with Bloom. Jake Gyllenhaal gives one of the best and most haunting performances playing Louis Bloom, from his gaunt appearance to his eerie demeanor. Throughout this wild ride you are left unsure whether Bloom is actually the charismatic, slick talking businessman he longs to be, or something much more sinister.
As Bloom keeps going farther and farther into his footage gathering tactics, the audience is left wondering whether the ways he goes about recording the shots are morally, ethically and legally right.
The old news saying “If it bleeds it leads” is explored in a whole new way in this film, and for once when the reviews are saying this is the movie to see this season, they’re actually correct. “Nightcrawler” is not a film to be missed.