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Ashdoc's movie review---Nightcrawler

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Ashdoc's movie review---Nightcrawler Empty Ashdoc's movie review---Nightcrawler

Post by ashdoc Thu Nov 13, 2014 12:20 pm

This is a film where the leading actor ( Jake Gyllenhaal ) is also the bad guy . There are no real good guys in the film at all , at least they don't have any important roles . 
Also , nothing much is told about the leading actor's background ( as to where he came from ) and he seems to have no relatives or friends ; no father mother sister brother wife girlfriend is shown---he seems to crop out of nowhere....

The film begins with Louis ( Jake Gyllenhaal ) committing outright crimes of the petty variety---like stealing a security guard's watch after assaulting him and stealing a bicycle and selling both to raise money . He has seen a camera crew filming the aftermath of a car crash , and wants to kickstart his own career of being a nightcrawler....

So what are nightcrawlers ?? They are camera crews which stalk the city searching for footage of accidents , homicides and other crimes . Lurid footage of dead people and blood is welcome , for the footage is sold to third rate TV stations which earn their income by keeping viewers hooked on to scenes of crime , and rely upon their ability to make the city sound unsafe to engage the viewers . Footage of white people being attacked by minorities is most sought after , in order to make them paranoid about their own safety....
It's a cutthroat profession , with several camera crews vying for the best angle to film the lurid footage---and so it needs people who are willing to bend the rules , and it needs them desperately....

Obviously Louis feels he is perfect for the profession , for no one is ready to bend the rules like he is....
And he is encouraged into doing so by Nina ( played by Rene Russo ) , the director of the TV station that he sells his footage to---it takes two to tango , and Nina is like minded to bend the rules an extra bit just like Louis in order to get some extra zing for her morning news . 

But even Nina could be shocked by the extent to which Louis goes to get sensational footage.....while he begins with going into crime scenes restricted by the police and moving dead bodies to get a better camera angle , he soon crosses all limits when he decides to CREATE the news himself for some exclusive footage....obviously we are not dealing with a normal person here but a sociopath....

And anybody coming in the way of our sociopath's aims is in danger....

So how dangerous can he be ?? And what happens next ?? Can be ever stopped in his atrocious attempts ?? 
Watch the film for that....

The film stands tall on one man's acting performance---lead actor Jake Gyllenhaal has put up a powerful performance as a scumbag who strikes gold in a seedy profession which thrives on the talents of people like him . He is articulate---extremely so , and reads the internet constantly to gain knowledge . And he is an extremely glib speaker who can ensnare the person who he is talking to with his persuasive skills . Add to it a criminal mind , and you have a diabolical combination .

Renne Russo ( Nina ) plays the aging bitch with still intact sexual charms---and Louis ( played by Jake ) can hardly withhold his interest in her . And as he brings her more and more lurid footage their faces come closer and closer in each encounter and conversation---and electricity sparks the air....

Rick ( Riz Ahmed ) is Louis' assistant in camerawork , and he is doing his job because he has no other source of money ; he is homeless . But he doesn't know what he has bargained for while taking a job with a person like Louis , and is on the way of getting into trouble....

Obviously the movie does not create a great image of the small time TV channels and the people who run them ; one wonders if people like Rene Russo's character are everywhere in the profession---greedy and with no ethics .

But above all ,the depravity of the character played by Jake Gyllenhaal just sucks , it just sucks...
And the triumph of the director lies in exploring this depravity to the maximum , and making the audience get shocked at his remorselessness....

The climax is chilling , or is it preparation for part two ??
If a part two comes , I will be definitely watching....

Verdict---Good .

ashdoc

Posts : 2256
Join date : 2011-05-04

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