"Nightcrawler" is an incredibly graphic and adult film...so think twice before you watch it. The language, the violence and content is NOT something everybody will want to see...to think twice (I am saying it again just to emphasize this strongly).
When the film begins, Louis (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a cheap little crook stealing and doing what he can to get by. In the process of doing this, he happens upon a film crew covering a crime scene...and Louis has found his purpose. He soon gets himself a cheap camcorder and police scanner and soon begins spending his evenings driving about LA--looking for mayhem in order to make a buck off it. As the film progresses, Louis' complete lack of ethics and conscience is shocking...especially when he begins manipulating things to make news stories and withholding police evidence in order to get the BIG story!
This film is incredibly cynical in the way it shows the news. It shows the newsfolk as mostly a lot of soulless bottom-feeders--and Louis is the king of them all. And, as his videos become more and more horrific, Louis seems to be enjoying it with an almost orgiastic pleasure. I really appreciated in the film is Jake Gyllenhaal's performance. His wide-eyed almost insane look really helped his character...as did his weird, gaunt look. And, it helped that the more awful the things were that he was covering, the happier he appeared. Some excellent acting by him. Overall, a cynical, intense and difficult film that is not for everyone...and it's a logical 21st century extension of the sort of exploitative news that thrilled audiences with "Network".
