Nightcrawler

I watched this drama / thriller featuring Jake Gyllenhaal a couple weeks ago, but haven’t posted about it yet cause I’ve been traveling back and forth over the pacific ocean.

In this movie, Jake plays an out of work sociopath who starts out stealing chain link fences to sell for scrap metal, then finds his calling in hawking footage of accidents and crimes to news stations.

The concept of this movie is really intriguing, and it portrays the news stations as greedy companies who market and sell tragedy. What really sells this film though, is Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance. He manages to be unnervingly creepy and likable at the same time, and you really feel like you can see the manipulative workings turning in his head through  the look in his eyes.

If you aren’t already disgusted with TV news, you will be after watching this. Regardless of how realistic it is or not, the fact that it’s believable should tell you something. This story really highlights the exploitative and manipulative nature of the news, and Gyllenhaal’s character is like a personification of those characteristics. He exploits his one employee, in the most extreme way possible. He manipulates and coerces the TV executives. And he fits right in in that world.

This is a fast paced, exciting, thoughtful, and slightly disturbing and dark movie that will make you question the morality of what you see on TV, if you don’t already. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys dark movies, or anyone who wants to see an especially good performance.

Check it out!