Nightcrawler

I'm sure you've heard that people will do just about anything to get their 15 minutes. Well, let's turn that around where the freelance camera crew will do just about anything to achieve their 15 minutes, for a price of course. "Nightcrawler" is basically about the latter, and the job done by these individuals basically match the name, because the name Nightcrawler emphatically gives me the creeps.

This is a thriller set in the nocturnal underbelly of contemporary Los Angeles. Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), a driven young man desperate for work discovers the high-speed world of L.A. crime journalism. Finding a group of freelance camera crew, one crew lead by Joe Loder (Bill Paxton), film crashes, fires, murder and mayhem, Louis muscles into the cut-throat, dangerous world of nightcrawling-- where each police siren wail equals a possible windfall and victims are converted into dollars and cents. Aided by news director, Nina Romina (Rene Russo), a veteran of the blood sport that is local TV news, Louis blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.

Others to round out the cast are Riz Ahmed as Rick, Louis' assistant, Kevin Rahm as Frank Kruse, Michael Hyatt as Detective Fronteiri, Ann Cusack as Linda, Rick Chambers as KWLA Anchor Ben Waterman, Holly Hannula as KWLA Anchor Lisa Mays, Eric Lange as Ace Video Cameraman, James Huang as Marcus Mayhem Video, Michael Papajohn as Security Guard, and Marco Rodriguez as Scrapyard Owner.

This was directed by seasoned writer Dan Gilroy. This guy was born to direct, because the pacing by the strategic actors was incredible. This being his first theatrical film, he will receive more work. Gilroy also wrote this gritty, on-the-edge-of-your-seat screenplay. The way that he used the actors to convey their own obsessiveness for being in this biz was so effective-- it made you feel as you were looking into the real world of nightcrawling almost as a documentary. One of the stars of this was that of cinematographer, Robert Elswit, asc. ("Boogie Nights" '97, "8MM" '99, "Magnolia" '99, "Heist" '01, "Punch-Drunk Love" '02, "Runaway Jury" '03, "Good Night, and Good Luck" '05, "Michael Clayton" '07, "There Will Be Blood" '07, "Duplicity" '09, "The Men Who Stare at Goats" '09, "Salt" '10, "The Town" '10, "Mission Impossible--Ghost Protocol" '12, "The Bourne Legacy" '12) plus many others. His ability to show just the correct amount of light in an overly 'dark' film is brilliant, and the photography is stunning--incredibly crisp as we saw in the film "There Will Be Blood", his Oscar winner. Gyllenhaal definitely out did himself in his performance. Playing a man teetering between self-driveness and sociopathic tendencies was an incredible tightrope to walk indeed.

For those into creepy, dark thrillers where each character looks questionable at best-- physically and mentally, this is the film for you. Otherwise, this might deem to be a movie some might squirm a bit too much at, like a... nightcrawler.

Out of 4 stars: 3                                    Rated: R                                  117mins.