Nightcrawler

Jake Gyllenhaal's sensational performance is the centerpiece of Nightcrawler, a film that delves into the pathology of the "success at any price" attitude that permeates today's culture. Spouting dime-store self-improvement lingo and a bug eyed intensity, Gyllenhaal's Louis Bloom is a brilliant sociopath who finds his calling selling pseudo-snuff film material to a shady, local LA news station. Yet in order to stay ahead of the game, Bloom finds he must continually raise the ante, eventually even going so far as to semi orchestrate events he thinks would make for compelling footage. Nightcrawler does lose steam by taking more than half of its running time to cover exposition, most of which can be gleamed simply by watching the trailer. As well, other than Riz Ahmed as Bloom's lacky navigator/assistant Rick, the audience has absolutely no one sympathetic or likeable to root for, which basically makes Nightcrawler the cinematic equivalent of spending the day with lowlifes. The film's apathy and cynicism can wear you down after a while and the denouement is entirely predictable, yet the ferocity of Gyllenhaal's performance makes all the difference and single handedly makes this film worth your time.