On the face of it, 2014 has been a rather strange year for film, a step down from an annum of classics and simultaneously a slalom dodge into the realms of adventure and discord. Here I take a look at five movies and the four lessons they taught us in 2014, for better or for worse.
Nightcrawler James Newton Howard Lakeshore Records On the July 25, 2000 episode of Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Conan decided to play a prank on his guest that evening, Harrison Ford. Ford, whose “no bullshit” personality both on and off the silver screen has preserved his deadpan chops to this day, was to recreate his …
One of the most self-defining and effective shots in Nightcrawler is also one of its most simply constructed. The camera is beneath the front window of a car, but the position isn’t revealed until the next shot when it cuts away to a wider revealing angle. Lou Bloom’s mug is in center frame, and there …
Dan Gilroy’s latest, Nightcrawler, has a lot on its troubled mind. It intertwines our national obsessions with voyeurism and stardom into a sociopathic nightmare from which you can’t awaken. At its churning center is the mesmerizing performance of Jake Gyllenhaal, who charms you with his infectious intensity, even as he ruthlessly manipulates everyone and everything around him. As the blood flows and the crimes accumulate, Gilroy traps us behind the camera as his passive accomplices. Welcome to the world of the Nightcrawler. Showering after you leave is highly recommended.
Nightcrawler, the directorial debut of screenwriter Dan Gilroy, has a strong kinship with Sidney Lumet’s Network. Both take a satirical view of broadcast journalism, portraying the profession as a cold-blooded environment where sensationalism takes center stage. If there is one difference that separates the newer film from its 1976 predecessor, though, it is that the former possesses none of the latter’s biting wit. Nightcrawler is incredibly heavy-handed with its message, and the satirical dialogue is far from profound.