Nightcrawler

Let's cut straight to it - Jake Gyllenhaal plays a great sociopath in Nightcrawler : a person who consistently shows no regard for right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others, as the dictionary definition goes. That kind of character fits in very neatly with tabloid journalism - the media phenomenon which seems itself a metaphor for sociopathy. What's great in this film is that Gyllenhaal's character, Louis Bloom, takes his role as a stringer one step further and starts influencing the stories he's capturing for news station KWLA 6. At first it's shifting photographs to blend in with bullet holes, then it's moving bodies - finally, he's orchestrating shootouts with police and desperados. That's going a step beyond being an unfazed spectator - which is where being a complete sociopath usually leads. His methods are a comment on sensationalist shock tabloid reporting itself, and that along with the fact that this is a near-flawless film makes it a modern classic.

Bloom starts out a thief and crook, always on the lookout for what pays - and when he accidentally stumbles on some nightcrawlers filming footage of a burning car wreck he discovers something he never knew about, which in turn equates to cash. A few good shots of an accident, good coverage of a crime scene and an interview make up a decent night's wages. Bloom's character is that of a determined learner - and he's relentless in his goal of becoming an efficient and talented photojournalist. He develops a professional relationship with news director Nina Romina (Rene Russo) and hires a navigator and assistant - Rick (Riz Ahmed) - whom he pays a paltry $35 per night. When the competition, Joe Loder (Bill Paxton) muscles in, Bloom deals with him in a cold and calculating way. His unethical methods eventually draw the attention of a couple of police detectives - but Bloom pushes on regardless into the blackest of black nights, a master of manipulation and very dangerous man to cross.

Man, I love Gyllenhaal in this - his performance creeps me out every time I see it. Those dead eyes, a key to an expression that never once exhibits warmth, understanding or empathy. He's like a cold, calculating snake who stiffens when he hears criticism - and although he never strikes you can feel the icy rage under the surface. Louis Bloom has no qualms at all with murder, and his go-to method of seduction is blackmail - perfect for the character. Gyllenhaal was nominated for many awards - including a BAFTA and Golden Globe. It's certainly surprising that he wasn't nominated for an Oscar. The only Oscar nomination the film garnered was for Best Original Screenplay - Dan Gilroy's cutting jab at tabloid journalism deserved at least that. 2014 was a massive year for films though, with the field including Boyhood, Foxcatcher, The Grand Budapest Hotel and the eventual winner Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) - five better movies I'd be hard-pressed to find in any category for any year.

The night setting is obviously perfect for the story, and influenced by the night photography of Weegee (Arthur Fellig), whose New York shots often included the grisly aftermath of violence or tragedy, sometimes particularly bad automobile accidents - you could call him one of the original nightcrawlers, as he'd sell his shots to tabloid newspapers. Cinematographer Robert Elswit used wide-angle lenses and a large depth of field to make what we see in the film look like a wildlife documentary, accentuating the wildness of night-time Los Angeles. There's a vibrancy to it, and a lot of speed and motion - a feeling of animalistic 'survival of the fittest' amongst what we see. Capitalism at it's most pure - a Darwin-like hierarchy both in terms of life and death and in relation to competing for the finite resource of wealth and reward. The darkness doesn't feel like chilly dread, but instead is a backdrop to neon violence, predators, and the many pitfalls of life - a place to think fast and watch out.

To add to the general feel of the film, James Newton Howard wisely went the way of mood-enhancing electronica synth music - not his usual province as far as film scores go, but it works perfectly in Nightcrawler. What else really? Considering the fact the visual elements are so wedded to speed and the concrete and neon jungle of L.A., no other kind of accompaniment would do. Fascinating is what Howard did, as he explained, to "put us in Lou Bloom's mind" - for example, in the scene where Bloom moves a body to create a better shot and we're all instinctively reacting with horror and revulsion, the score instead shifts to a triumphant sounding climax - reflecting how excited the character is to experience what is to him a breakthrough and step forward in his evolutionary progress on the ladder of media success. It tells us more about him. So one of the added ambitions the score had was to try and give the audience a sense of what Bloom is going through internally during certain moments - another praiseworthy aspect of the film.

Beyond how well all of it's technical elements perform and are combined, I love Nightcrawler for being the dark, gritty, cognizant, intelligent and meaningful motion picture it is. The fact that it has artistic credibility and also an entertaining story to tell is evidenced by the fact that the distributors advertised the film in two different ways to both arthouse and mainstream audiences. It's one of those films that works both ways, and works well performance-wise, story-wise, visually and sound-wise. It's story is one that's compelling as well as shocking and sensational. It's all well and truly anchored and led up front by Jake Gyllenhaal's utter brilliance in giving us a truly disturbing glance at what someone with antisocial personality disorder looks like. Able to function well at what he does, but not someone you'd ever want to be close to. For poor Nina, it means pressure to slink down into the depths with him, tied to his success - and lack of scruples.

It's really good to see Nightcrawler hold up so well a decade after it's release. It was a standout during one of the 21st Century's better years for producing great films - but I wondered how well it would do over time. Turns out it's still as important, and if anything plays better now - a neo-noir master-work that has that special veneer of perfection about it. I think it was a little too dark to usher in more Oscar nominations, and was hurt by turning up during a particularly strong year, though I'm still surprised Gyllenhaal wasn't nominated. It does particularly well in shining a light on how this kind of gutter journalism tends to focus our attention away from what is actually important and instead fixes our gaze on the sensational and tawdry - to the detriment of everyone. As far as antiheroes go, Louis Bloom is up there with Tom Ripley, and his success in the film's narrative is the movie's crowning indictment on modern media today. I also think he's one of the freakiest, most unnerving characters I've ever seen - managing to go that far without breaking a sweat, yelling or doing anything really crazy. He breezes through the night unnoticed, and as such is a hidden danger - a quiet, insidious poison rewarded by a broken system.