Nightcrawler Review

Last night, I watched "Nightcrawler" directed by Dan Gilroy. It was a really good film. The acting is amazing and the cinematography is spot on. The film builds subtle suspense that leaves you filled with dread and relief when the credits roll. The writing in this film is some of the beat I have seen when it comes to character studies. In this first review, I will breakdown "Nightcrawler" and share my thoughts on it.

First off, the acting is "Nightcrawler" is phenomenal. Jake Gyllenhaal might give the best performance of his career as the highly intelligent yet cunning and ruthless Louis Bloom. After becoming a freelance news video footage gatherer, Louis starts to bend the narrative to his will by altering and even staging the crimes and accidents he films. Even though he is a bad guy, the performance coupled with the incredible story and direction makes you route for Louis even as he manipulates people and does horrible things for his own gain.

The story in nightcrawler is both enthralling and incredibly written. With barley any exposition, you get a deep look into Louis Bloom and get a clear sense of the person he is. You see how intelligent but also how selfish and manipulative he is. All the other characters in the film feel like real people instead of an objective or tool for the main character to acquire or use. Almost every scene is transfixing and well directed. I never once though the movie was boring or even slow. The movie builds suspense masterfully. The setting of night time Los Angeles streets are perfect for the mood of dread and despair that the film captures. The film also alerted me to how heartless the news can be. Using real life tragedies like business. The lack of empathy that the main character exhibits reflects the bigger news industry that he works for.

Overall, "Nightcrawler" is an incredible film with a great character study at the center of it. Thank you for reading my first blog post and I encourage you to go watch "Nightcrawler" and have your own thoughts about it!