Nightcrawler

Directed by Dan Gilroy.

2014. Rated R, 117 minutes.

Cast:

Jake Gyllenhaal

Rene Russo

Riz Ahmed

Bill Paxton

Ann Cusack

Kevin Rahm

Kathleen York

When we first meet Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal), he is stealing a fence. No, I don't mean that he's a fence for stolen goods. He is actually stealing a chain-link fence. He then tries to hustle the guy he's selling it to. On the way home, he comes across a car accident, meets a guy who runs a freelance film crew and sells footage to the various local news programs. Lou is suddenly inspired to do the same. He gets the money for a camera by stealing a racing bicycle and off he goes. He manages to sell the first thing he shoots to Nina (Russo), news director at one of those local stations. With that bit of encouragement, he hires the unsuspecting Rick (Ahmed) to be his assistant and dives into the business with both feet. This is all fine and dandy except for one thing: Lou is completely unethical. In fact, I don't think he knows the meaning of the word 'ethics.'

Having a thoroughly unlikable person as your main character is a tough sell. Normally, this is done by making that person an antihero. Nightcrawler seems to dispense with that notion, early. Instead, it makes Lou as slimy as possible without an ounce of regret. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the role in a manner that makes us truly hate him. The wild-eyed look on his face for the entirety of the film is a perfect veneer for this person. There is never a moment during the film when we don't feel like this guy just ain't right. It's an expert-level performance by an actor at the top of his game.

There are other excellent performances in Nightcrawler. Rene Russo is particularly good as a person who thinks they're in control of a situation until they suddenly figure out they are not. Bill Paxton was also good as Joe Loder, a competitor of Lou's. However, Gyllenhaal's true co-star is the screenplay written by Dan Gilroy, who also handles directing duties. It's not afraid of making Lou a thoroughly despicable person. We spend the movie searching for a redeeming quality within him. At every turn we are disappointed. More than that, we are consistently mortified. Just when we think Lou couldn't possibly be any scummier, he does something that makes our mouths drop open. The outcome of all this is a darkly humorous critique on our escalating love affair with sensationalism. It also speaks to the lengths local news shows have to go to in order to be competitive in a world where the internet provides the world its main source of news and even 24 hour news stations are struggling to keep up. An ending that's as shocking for what it isn't as for what it is epitomizes an entire movie shrugging its shoulders while letting us know that's just how it is.

I've been told I'm a cynic on a few occasions. If you hear something often enough, you start to believe it, even if it's about yourself. During my periodic self-assessments I've accepted the cynic label as fair criticism. I do have hope for my fellow man, but it's shaky. I watched Nightcrawler with that perpetually swimming around the back of my head. When the final credits rolled, I realized my outlook on the world is rather sunny. Sunny is a relative term, of course. I may not have the most faith in the way humanity works, but THIS MOVIE is truly cynical. That doesn't make it a bad movie. It's quite the opposite, actually. Just don't look to feel good about the world when it's over.