"an invigorating experience, with stellar performances from Rene Russo and particularly Jake Gyllenhaal"

From the offset of Nightcrawler we are greeted by protagonist Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), a wide-eyed go-getter in search of a job. Bloom when asking for a job is told, “I’m not hiring a thief.” Subsequently, he witnesses a car wreck being filmed by bullish Joe Loder (Bill Paxton), known as a nightcrawler. Loder for a living films sombre material with the intention of selling it to the highest bidding network. Bloom takes an interest in Loder’s work, however Loder is not interested remotely in his questions and elucidates overtly he is not hiring.

Bloom is not deterred from yet another job rejection, he purchases a camcorder to film the graphic, nocturnal L.A with a large in scope ambition in mind. From the start of his new founded career as a nightcrawler his inexperience is palpable, being pushed back by a policeman as well as having aesthetically poor footage. However, he shows flickers of potential as the forthright local network editor Nina (Rene Russo) rewards Bloom with several hundreds of dollars for his work.  

Nightcrawler takes a scrutinising glance at journalism; Nina instructs an editor to loop the sound of a baby crying, heightening the harrowing nature of what occurs. She demands footage provided by Lou to be shown on the network prior to it being given to relevant authorities. In the cesspool of journalism integrity plays second-fiddle to ratings and career progression, which is mesmerisingly conveyed by Rene Russo. Without such a powerful performance, the concept of a journalist not adhering to what they should do ethically would feel mundane. This is a result from it being unsurprising to the audience as they are barraged ordinarily with journalist wrongdoings.  

The stand out performer in Nightcrawler is actor Jake Gyllenhaal. His sinister yet somewhat comic performance echoing Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman from American Psycho is one of the greatest performances from his illustrious body of work. Bloom juxtaposed to hapless Rick (Riz Ahmed), whose role in the partnership entails being the navigator/cameraman provides an engaging dynamic; Bloom’s self-help fervour speeches directed to Rick are mesmerising. 

Nightcrawler is the directorial debut of writer Dan Gilroy. Gilroy’s previous work includes the reboot The Bourne Legacy and punchy Sci-Fi Real Steel. For a screenwriter it can be arduous to hand over their work to a director that can change any aspect they want, but in this instance Gilroy has full control over his writing amongst other aspects of the film and performs valiantly for his first feature. He has the hallmarks of a director with a great depth of experience.

Overall Nightcrawler is an invigorating experience, with stellar performances from Rene Russo and particularly Jake Gyllenhaal. Both actors grab the film by the scruff of the neck, propelling the quality of the film immensely. Awards beckon for Nightcrawler as the meaty performances and the alluringly shot, often nighttide LA rivals toe to toe with the plethora of expected films to receive recognition in this regard.