Nightcrawler

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed & Bill Paxton

Directed by: Dan Gilroy

Rating: ★★★★

Nightcrawler is about Louis Bloom (Gyllenhaal), a highly ambitious man with nothing to lose and everything to prove who, by sheer coincidence, realises that footage of road traffic accidents can make him a lot of money, and wield him a lot of power…

Louis will do anything to get ahead...

After seeing so many terrible films this year, it’s about time that an excellent film came along.

Not does Nightcrawlerfocus on a darkly disturbing topic, it has strong central performances, a great script, excellent characters, good directing, an incredibly apt and jarringly important message, and a impacting ending.

Although the idea of watching a film about a man filming car crashes might not appeal to many, the gore content is fairly low, as Nightcrawler is a dark thriller that places its characters, and not its special effects, at the forefront.

Louis drives around at night looking for accidents...

Gyllenhaal gives a wonderfully creepy performance as the chillingly charismatic Louis, and Russo provides excellent support as ruthless television producer Nina Romina.

Louis and Nina are both very ambitious people...

They really are the stars of the piece, even though the film is clearly Gyllenhaal’s, as his understated but impacting role is at the very core of the movie.

Both characters are detestable, but nuanced, as they are complex and strangely endearing. They seem believable, and this makes the film much stronger and more interesting to watch, especially when the protagonist is a villain.  

Gyllenhaal is very creepy as Louis...

Although Gyllenhaal and Russo have many great moments together, Louis also manages to chew the scenery in scenes with his assistant Rick (Ahmed) and rival Joe (Paxton).

Louis and Rick share a moment...

Written and directed by Gilroy, the script is very strong- there’s some amazing dialogue and the story really works. The finale is also incredibly tense, and, luckily for the audience, there is no melodramatic over the top blunt instrument bludgeoning ending- it finishes how it begins- intelligently and subtly, which makes the real point of the film all the more powerful.

Will Louis become a success or a failure?

Darkly provocative, cleverly written and brilliantly acted, Nightcrawler really is an excellent movie.