Review: "Nightcrawler"

It's 2014, and Donald Trump is yet to announce his campaign for the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. The concept of "fake news" has long-since existed, but its use in contemporary society is scarce, and media organisations are more commonly trusted. Enter "Nightcrawler", written by Dan Gilroy (who also makes his directorial debut), a gritty crime drama which explores the appeal of Los Angeles crime to morning news shows.

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Louis Bloom, a mid-thirties thief who finds a purpose in being a 'nightcrawler', a freelance videographer who follows police sirens to film violence — carjackings, stabbed toddlers, and savage dog attacks are among the items on a showreel highlighted in a slick montage — and sell the footage for a profit. His buyer comes in the form of KWLA 6 morning news director Nina Romina (Rene Russo), and the exclusive videos quickly become a signature of the channel as Bloom and his intern, Nick (Riz Ahmed, giving a typically skittish but terrific performance), seek out more horrifying and more newsworthy crimes. Fake news, this is not.

Everything about this film oozes darkness: the opening minutes are shrouded in it, being lit simply by the bright neon signs of Santa Monica. Much of the film is shot at night, with Bloom finding the most interesting stories mere hours before the 6am news cycle. That darkness is reflected in him, too. Romina remarks that Bloom has "a good eye" for this sort of work, although he initially struggles with the morality of filming people on the verge of death; he's visibly nervous pointing a camera at a bleeding limb. But that fear quickly subsides and he soon resembles Hannibal Lecter more closely than scared viewers watching "The Silence of the Lambs".

"Nightcrawler" is fascinating. Its exploration of journalism — what it means, how to report news, the ethics of dealing with sensitive stories — coincides with its exploration of humanity. Romina's attitude is hardly one of compassion, deciding time and again that people should choke down their breakfast to the sights and sounds of death. At one point, she insists her presenters repeat certain phrases designed purely to terrify viewers, hammering home the idea that comfort does not bend itself to the harsh realities of urban crime.

By the final third, the story takes Bloom down a bad path of his own doing, and we begin to see exactly how he ticks as his decisions become increasingly reckless. What transpires may shock at first but, on reflection, it suits his character perfectly. Gyllenhaal and Russo shine playing similar sides of a similar coin; their two characters often a battle for control of any given scene. It's hard to do anything but admire when they share the screen.

The content Bloom produces is as real as it gets, and it's not fake news to suggest "Nightcrawler" is a superb piece of cinema. Like all the big-screen greats, there is plenty to leave viewers thinking — and in a journalism world now populated by the loudest voice, a bit of thinking is a good recommendation.