Journalism is a crazy job, but Jake Gyllenhaal’s newest film, Nightcrawler, shows exactly what not to do when you’re a journalist.
Gyllenhaal plays Louis Bloom, a man, desperate for work, who finds an interest in crime journalism on the streets of Los Angeles.
As Bloom begins work as an amateur freelance cameraman, he quickly discovers that it pays to be the first pair of eyes on the scene of a crime. As time progresses, Bloom begins to film increasingly more violent incidents and will stop at nothing to get the best shot, even if it means tampering with the scene. Bloom makes it very clear that he will do whatever is necessary in order to get what he wants.
The action starts out slow, but once it starts, it doesn’t stop. Bloom becomes a very unlikeable character rather quickly. With each story Bloom covers, he becomes increasingly bold in how close he gets to the scene, breaking the law several times just to get the best shot for the story. He also becomes a very shrewd businessman, even blackmailing the station news editor that he sells his stories to. Audiences will find certain points in the film to be very hard to watch because of Bloom’s psychotic behavior.
Gyllenhaal gives a chilling performance as Louis Bloom. Throughout the film, Gyllenhaal will make audiences believe that Bloom is a psychotic lunatic who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, even if it means breaking the law and putting others in harm’s way. Audiences will find themselves conflicted as to whether they hate this character or whether they should root for him.
Although the film portrays the very thing journalists aspire not to be, Nightcrawler is a suspense-filled rollercoaster that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats and is definitely worth seeing.
