Tag Archives: donnie darko

Nightcrawler (2014)

My Ratings: 4/5.

Interstellar is no doubt the most anticipated release of this week; Nolan ready to take control of our imagination and lead us somewhere awesome far beyond our planet, our reality.

But Nightcrawler on the other hand is very much based on our own planet, a dangerously realistic, gritty tale based on the concept of our unconscious satisfaction in watching other people’s loss and tragedy. Thanks to the news channels.

Recently Gone Girl has depicted the hyper-realistic approach of media and to what extent these people can go to sell their story.

Now Nightcrawler pushes the envelope further and explores how these TV network channels are selling fear by showcasing violence and blood, stories of accidents, murders and gory deaths.

And to increase their TRP they want exclusive video footage, the more bloody and morbid the better the shock value.

And Louis Bloom (Lou) is their man.

The film revolves around Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) who wants to make a name for him in the media racket, so he gets a camera and start selling footage. For him this is business and in business there is no ethics and morals.

Who is really this Louis Bloom – a scavenger or a survivor, a psychopath or a potential businessman, a cold-hearted predator or an insane professional?

Well, all I can say is Lou is Jake Gyllenhaal’s best performance till date.

nightcrawler-posterJake Gyllenhaal, if you remember him as Donnie Darko has come a long way since then, been part of films like The Day after Tomorrow, Brokeback Mountain, Jarhead, Zodiac, Brothers, Prince of Persia, End of watch, Prisoners.

But as the lean and ruthless night-crawler, his overall body language, his business talk and especially the way he communicates, his cool and calculative gaze is enough to give you the creeps.

Rene Russo as the channel producer and Riz Ahmed as Lou’s partner/employee have been impressive enough.

Written and directed by Dan Gilroy (his first film as a director), Nightcrawler is a film that will engulf you into its corrupt, sadistic world but the real problem is that you will enjoy the experience and eventually feel guilty about it.

It’s something special, don’t you miss it.

 
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