Disc Reviews

Nightcrawler Review

24th Feb 2015

Jake Gyllenhaal may not be getting much in the way of awards at the moment, but he is continuing a strong streak of films (After Prisoners, Enemy) with Nightcrawler.

Gyllenhaal plays Lou Bloom – a shady character scavenging his way through life who witnesses the aftermath of a road accident where he is inspired by the arrival of a small camera crew who are there to pick up footage of the accident to then sell onto a buying network.

Lou sets about building his own business, at first with the cheapest equipment going, and then slowly suckering in an assistant as he slowly starts to build relationships and uneasy rapports with the TV station that buys his footage.

Bloom is a fascinating character who only deserves the credit he takes from this new found lifestyle because he works hard to get it. He doesn’t get there using honesty or even integrity, but he’s willing to do what others wouldn’t, and manipulates others by the use of his words. However twisted it may seem, this is a success story of a man who starts with nothing and builds something very successful from it.

Nightcrawler presents plenty of opportunity for us to see how low Bloom will dive in order to get the results he wants but also how willing he is to let this ego explode when he has attained a position of power.

Renee Russo puts in a notable performance as the station executive that Bloom reports to.

The main extra of note on the disc is a commentary from the director/Prodcer.editor team of Tony, Dan and John Gilroy (who are also all brothers).

Nightcrawler is a magnificent film, expertly written and directed and deserves all the credit it can get. It’s likely to remain a highlight on Gyllenhaal’s already impressive resume.