Nightcrawler: Five Thoughts (2014)

I saw Nightcrawler recently and was really impressed by it. Even though it was the middle of the day there were still quite a lot of people in the auditorium, which only goes to show how much interest this film is getting, and for good reason. Here are a few scenes and thoughts I had about the film stuck with me long after I had left the cinema.

1. Dan Gilroy

Considering that the film has such a high standard of cinematography and performances from the actors, it’s easy to forget that this is the first feature length film Gilroy has ever directed. Sure, he may have been in the industry for a while (albeit a pretty unknown presence, having only written screenplays for two critically panned movies: 2005’s Two For The Money, and the 1994 Dennis Hopper directed Chasers), but coming out of the blue with such an accomplished film with a smart, ardent script and arresting cinematography has certainly now earned him the respect and attention he deserves.

2. Jake Gyllenhaal’s Performance

Gyllenhaal’s performance in the film is utterly compelling. Not only did he lose 20 pounds for the role (Gyllenhaal says “I knew that [Lou] was literally and figuratively hungry, [so I got into the] mode where I was always a bit hungry”), which is admirable in the sense of him putting as much into the role as possible and really caring about his performance, but he’s also one of the film's producers, meaning that he must have been very passionate about the film for it to have actually been made.

Gyllenhaal’s portrayal of Louis Bloom fluctuates from calm to terrifying and from polite to comically insane throughout the film, which Gyllenhaal attains with tremendous dexterity and gravitas, and his character’s passion and obsession to his craft becomes all the more disturbing as the film hurtles towards its finale.

3. The Cinematography

As I mentioned before, there are so many amazing shots throughout Nightcrawler, it’s easy to forget that this is the first film Gilroy has directed. It’s not without the help of regular Paul Thomas Anderson collaborator Robert Elswit though as DOP. From start to finish the mise-en-scène of every shot was stunning. Not a second was wasted, which compares to the pace of the script, in how quickly the plot moved along. I found the nighttime establishing shots of LA at the beginning of the film really quite striking, as they encapsulated the main setting and general atmosphere of the film. A lot of the cinematography never strayed into predictable territory. The car chase scenes for instance are shot from various camera angles and interesting viewpoints that you wouldn’t expect. I’d say it’s easily one of the most visually astonishing and impressive films of 2014, on a par I’d say with Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.

4. The Two Main Set Pieces

The two main set pieces of the film are executed brilliantly, and contained some of the films most gripping and memorable moments. They are: the scene midway through the film when Lou and Rick arrive at the crime scene before the police and the plot takes a nose-dive, and the long finale, in which Lou and Rick are in their car staking out the criminals who were involved in the triple-homicide earlier, which (quite literally) ramps up the tension into fifth gear until the frantic and hair-raising conclusion. These two scenes were directed brilliantly, with an excellent mix of high and low angle shots, hand-held shots, and tracking shots, and are a master class in suspense, keeping you on the edge of your seat right until the end.

5. The Soundtrack

The score to the film was created by James Newton Howard, a prolific American film composer, who has really become the ‘go-to guy’ when it comes to producing a score for a Hollywood drama movie. He has produced soundtracks for over a 100 movies since his career began in 1974. Considering that amount of time you’d imagine he’d have run out of new ideas for a score long time ago.

Far from it, Nightcrawler’s score is full of compelling motifs and ideas that connect with moments in the film perfectly. The grungy solo guitar riffs that are used as repetitive motifs during the daytime scenes really create a strong atmosphere for the hazy sundrenched setting of LA, whereas the fast paced and aggressive full band pieces capture the tension and excitement of the nighttime scenes where the action and most of the set-pieces take place. The fact that the soundtrack wasn’t scored by a famous or well-known musician made the score more appealing in my opinion, as I find a big name attached to a movie soundtrack really distracts you from watching the film.

Alex Turner’s soundtrack to Richard Ayoade’s Submarine is a good example of this, as the soundtrack has become more famous than the actual film due to Alex Turner’s fame, and hearing his well-known voice cropping up in and out of the film really diverts your attention from the film and reminds you of the fictionality of what you’re watching. Whereas in Nightcrawler, the soundtrack and the film go hand in hand, complimenting each other. The score adds to the film and makes certain scenes much more intense and powerful.