If there is an actor who has never gotten much recognition for his acting skills, Jake Gyllenhaal is definitely one that might pop up in your head. Tie this with a film that not only has him in the starring role as he just takes over the film with his amazing talent, but the film itself also received barely any acknowledgement from the Academy? You got a recipe for an experience that ages like fine wine. Louis Bloom is a petty thief living in a rundown apartment in Los Angeles. One night, Louis comes across a car accident and a couple of men known as stringers, who are freelance cameraman who try to get as much video footage as possible about grisly aftermaths before the police show up to close off the area. Being inspired, Lou gets his own equipment and even an assistant as he works exclusively for a local news station who the news director, Nina Romina, is seeking for the most gritty and eye-catching footage that Lou can offer. However, as Lou gets more and more sucked into his job and develops a desensitization for the misery and death he films, he starts to do more illegal techniques in order to capture the best footage he can possibly have. The story is more on the minimal side as it's really based off on Lou and his turn to a more sinister, manipulative sociopath in order to succeed in life. The story does eventually build up to a conclusive plot-thread that is mainly introduced halfway through the film, but the story isn't really the focus for this character-based thriller. There's a nice progression of the character's evil nature which I feel that the only media that can be compared would be "Breaking Bad". It's a nice comparison not only by the look and character development of the lead, but the tone is perfectly align to the aforementioned show. It's dark, gritty and set in a very grounded world, but there's a touch of levity and humour at times. It all helps in creating suspense as you wonder what Lou is going to do next.
Jake Gyllenhaal as Louis Bloom is by far the best performance of his career. Gyllenhaal plays this psychotic criminal mind while hiding the criminal acts under a seemingly decent and intelligent exterior. Lou does some pretty bad things throughout the movie and the film doesn't really make him too sympathetic outside of showing that he lives in a crappy apartment and is trying to make as much money as possible. However, regardless if he's sympathetic or not, Gyllenhaal has so much charm and demeanor in his performance that the viewer roots for Lou mainly because he does deserve what he has been building up to and Gyllenhaal helps by making Lou far more likeable than he even has any right to be. Although it sounds like Gyllenhaal takes over the entire film, he is supported by a great supporting cast, albeit there's only a few characters to note. Rene Russo plays Nina Romina, the news director of KWLA 6 who loves Lou's work and continues to use the footage as much as possible, but feels uncomfortable with Lou as a person as he has far more intellect and malicious intent as he leads on. Russo does great in mirroring the view of the audience, which is a back-and-forth battle of either liking or hating Lou overall. Riz Ahmed plays Rick, a young hustler who is hired by Lou as an assistant for driving to destinations and capturing other angles of deadly aftermaths. Rick offers the light humour the film has, and acts just as awkward and insecure as Lou's false personality. He doesn't have any moral code and is only working for the measly pay that he accidentally suggests to Lou, which Ahmed does a nice job in making a somewhat likeable character in a film filled with harshness and bitterness. Lastly, there's the late Bill Paxton as Joe Loder, a rival stringer who pressures Lou for working with him once the latter is managing to prove to be great at his job. Paxton does a really good job at being a slimy, despicable man who is only caring for profit and his ego, which Lou manages to get revenge on. Outside of these four recurring characters, that's really about it. All of the actors do a great job in creating these realistic, morally-grey characters, but it's Gyllenhaal who, of course, steals the show as Lou for a performance that was unfairly snubbed at the Oscars.
Dan Gilroy's directorial debut after years of work as a screenwriter pays off in his best work to date, both by direction and writing. The most striking thing to note about his directing is mainly how he sets up the nighttime aesthetic of L.A. While there's an occasional scene set in daytime, most of the film and the setting is set in night or an interior set. The nighttime setting paints a far different picture of L.A compared to the more general knowledge the city has been known for. In nighttime, there's not much traffic, people or pollution that stands out, but rather an almost different city where the industrial side keeps working, cars chases and top speeds can be tested, and the underbelly of nightlife scum and opportunists take charge. All of this is perfected by Robert Elswit's cinematography, which is simply gorgeous. It's mainly comprised of handheld camerawork, but it not only fits the premise of the film, but it has a very polished feel. The framing alone is just simply gorgeous. There are some very nice close-ups and tracking shots, but the shots of the city and exterior landscape is what really shines as L.A at night has so much character and beauty than you might think. The score by James Newton Howard isn't one of his best works, but it's still really good. It works at being a bit more minimalistic as some scenes of suspense and intensity might not offer music, while others can have an eerie, horror-esque underscore. The score seems somewhat inspired by an 80's feel while not incorporating any synthesizers, instead having a more instrumental base. At times, the score can feel oddly inspirational, while at others, it can give off an eerie vibe. Last worth noting would be the suspenseful scenes of Lou getting footage. I love the aforementioned minimal music at times and how Lou is attempting to have a horror-esque mindset in trying to capture his footage. The final car chase at the end as the LAPD chase down a pair of criminals who get involved in the story is simply amazing as the cinematography stays completely inside Lou's car as we track this horrifying car chase that would otherwise be exciting in a typical action movie. I hope Gilroy continues to write and direct more films, because we need more brilliance like his in the industry.
"Nightcrawler" has gone down as one of my favourite films from the 2010's and being a high contender as the top 10 best thrillers of all time. From a nice setup for a story following the job of stringers that serves as an excellent character study of Lou, the tone being very dark and grounded while also having a bit of lighthearted fun at times, Gyllenhaal's outstanding performance as Lou and one of the best leads in the genre, the supporting cast also being just as good for their characters while also helping Gyllenhaal shine even more as the star, perfect cinematography by Elswit, a pretty good score by Howard, engaging tension-fuelled scenes of suspense, and Gilroy's directing and portrayal of the city of L.A is as masterful as the screenplay. There's practically no flaws in the film, which is really hard to achieve for this kind of film. Perhaps a few might not like it for their own reasons, but personally, "Nightcrawler" remains as one of the best films to come out of the last ten years.
Verdict: 10/10. A flawless masterpiece. If you haven't experienced this film yet, please do whenever possible. You won't be disappointed.
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