My husband was out of town at the same time my mother and sister went on a quick trip to Vegas, so my dad and I were on our own for a couple of days. We solved this problem by watching a lot of movies, which is an excellent way to solve lots of problems, in my opinion.
I don't know that I'd actually seen a full preview for Nightcrawler before I went in to the theater, which is probably a good thing because it's a fairly nuanced film that would be difficult to communicate in a two minute trailer.
I was a journalism major for a while. Nightcrawler touches on several of the reasons that I stopped majoring in journalism - media intruding on grief and pain, the "if it bleeds it leads" mentality that is especially prevalent in TV news, and the slow degradation of journalistic ethics as amateurs started to participate in the fifth estate. The film also explores isolation, manipulation, and straight-up creepy ass motherfuckers.
Jake Gyllenhaal is fantastic in the movie, but so is literally every other person you see on screen. No one over or underplays anything - they all hit their marks perfectly. The screenplay seems like it would be a lovely thing to read; there are vast stretches of silence where we can't tell what's going on or why it's happening but only have to experience what the characters in those scenes are experiencing: tension, confusion, and a grim determination to move forward. The art direction is stunning as well, set off by jaw-dropping cinematography that manages to delicately capture blue morning light above a shabby neighborhood as well as swerving and streaking neons in a brutally intense chase scene.
I honestly can't think of a single criticism (constructive or not) of this film - it's rare and perfect and sharp and frightening and I'm so glad I got to see it.
Cheers,
- Alli
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