It came as no surprise that Jake Gyllenhaal captivated audiences in his role as the protagonist, Louis Bloom, in “Nightcrawler.”
The deeper I traveled into the movie, the deeper I crawled into Bloom’s mind and the warped way that he thinks. I found myself wondering where he would draw the line. My advice to you on this front is: don’t hold your breath.
Bloom is a highly intelligent but obsessive and mentally twisted thief. He tries a new trade, hoping to find something that he loves and can turn into a career. Bloom begins shooting on-the-scene video footage of crimes and horrific events and then sells it as b-roll to a local news station. The station’s desperate, career-driven news director Nina — portrayed by actress Rene Russo — becomes a victim of Bloom’s depravity through blackmail and manipulation.
Bloom learns the tricks of the trade very quickly. Though he is already talented at his job, he begins to manipulate crime scenes and commit crimes of his own to get the perfect footage.
He enlists the help of an intern — played by Riz Ahmed — to help him navigate, shoot footage and ensure that he is always the first on the scene. By increasingly blurring the line between unethical reporting and criminal behavior, Bloom always gets his shot.
At first, I was pulled in by Bloom’s obvious disregard for ethical reporting, which was not surprising since he was introduced as a violent thief. Once I was in the story, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. I wondered how bad it would get, how far Bloom would go.
When the movie ended, I was unsure of what to make of what I had just watched, but I was intrigued the entire time. It’s a dark film, but it’s not so dark that you can’t enjoy the story. All in all, I highly recommend this movie.
