By Rodrigo Valverde/reporter
With Oscar season in full swing, Nightcrawler is a film that will definitely make an impact at next year’s Academy Awards and one that movie fans will not want to miss. This is one of the best movies of the year.
Nightcrawler takes place in the streets of Los Angeles and follows Lou Bloom, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, as he struggles to get by financially and even resorts to stealing things he can later sell. Lou encounters an amateur film crew shooting a car accident and gets inspired to join their profession.
He buys a cheap camcorder and police scanner and films accidents and violent crimes to sell to a local TV news station.
Lou finds himself getting better at his job with each footage he sells and gets encouraged to cover more violent crimes in “rich white neighborhoods” to attract more viewers for the TV station, earning him more money.
With little to no moral values, Lou goes to despicable measures to get what he wants such as altering crime scenes to get a better shot, “eliminating” his competitors and blackmailing the morning news director to comply with whatever he asks for.
Gyllenhaal gives arguably the best performance of his career. He rivets the audience with every word that comes out of his mouth, which also attests to the brilliant script written by the film’s first-time director Dan Gilroy. Gyllenhaal’s loss of 20 pounds for the role also adds a level of creepiness to the character. The Best Actor category is going to be extremely competitive this year, but Gyllenhaal is sure to be a frontrunner.
The supporting cast includes Rene Russo as the morning news director, Bill Paxton as one of Lou’s news rival cameramen and Riz Ahmed as Lou’s assistant. Everyone is strong in the film, but this is definitely Gyllenhaal’s movie.
Nightcrawler is a thriller with exceptional acting, writing and cinematography that is unforgettable and will keep the audience at the edge of their seats. The last act especially will keep hearts racing.
This is a must-see for all movie fans.
