Part character study, part indictment of the modern news media, Nightcrawler provides Jake Gyllenhaal with the best role of his career thus far. He stars as Louis Bloom, an alienated, but driven man struggling to find work. As the film begins, Louis is stealing materials from a Los Angeles construction site, which he attempts to sell at a scrap yard. After negotiating a price for his goods, Bloom asks for a job, even an internship, but is quickly shut down. Louis appears to be a symbol of the many Americans who are struggling to find work despite their best efforts.

One night, while driving on the freeway, he comes upon a grisly car accident. He gets out to take a closer look, and that’s when he runs into a camera crew led by Joe Loder (Bill Paxton), intent on filming whatever they can sell to local new stations. Quickly intrigued, Louis goes out and buys a police scanner and cheap video camera, thus beginning his career of selling violence and gore to the highest bidder. Louis finds the prefect mark in desperate news producer named Nina Romina (Rene Russo). In need of ratings, “If it bleeds, it leads,” Nina tells Louis, particularly if it’s a white woman in an affluent neighborhood. It’s even better if the if she’s the victim of a black perpetrator.

The directorial debut of screenwriter Dan Gilroy Nightcrawler certainly owes a debt to some great films of the past such as Sidney Lumet’s Network and Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. As played by Jake Gyllenhaal who lost twenty pounds for the role, and sporting a high pitched voice, Louis is a wild-eyed, psychopathic manifestation of the 24-hour news cycles need for instant gratification, and the death of old school journalistic ethics.

Despite the films obvious violence, humor comes from Louis’ fast-talking, twisted rhetoric. He is firm in his belief when discussing about projected growth curves, and company growth despite the shadiness of his profession. He is meant to represent a future generation of workers who given limited opportunities, will have very distorted notion of privacy and personal ethics in this highly computerized/digital age. Nina Romina is facing similar questions. In a world where tabloids such as TMZ and “fake” news shows such as The Daily Show are fast becoming the public’s source for their information, she must up the ante with images of real crimes that scare the hell out of people, or face obsolescence. It’s great to see Rene Russo working ago. One can only hope that her fine performance as Nina leads to more screen work for her. She shows herself to be a vital presence here, and it’s clear she could really add some spice to the right roles.

While most of us likely realize that slimy characters have existed on the periphery of television news for years, Nightcrawler delivers the sobering message that they are in fact playing a more central role in how our news is delivered than many of us would have ever imagined.

Presented in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio, Nightcrawler has been given a 1080p presentation that really shows the gritty rawness that Gilroy and cinematographer Robert Elswit intended. Despite being shot largely in the nighttime hours, the image remains strong, while rich, vibrant colors permeate the darkness throughout. Detail is spectacular, with wonderful edge definition and edge delineation. Banding, aliasing, ringing and other issues are nowhere to be found, making for a superior viewing experience.

Universal’s DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track provides an immersive experience with well-crafted sonics. Dialogue is clean, and clear throughout and dominates the center channel. LFE output is explosive, giving nice weight to crashes, car chases, and the like. The full soundfield is used whenever necessary, making for a wonderful experience.

English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles are included.

The following extras are available:

  • Audio Commentary: Writer/director Dan Gilroy, producer Tony Gilroy and Editor John Gilroy discuss the film’s development, the script, casting process, characters, and themes. The three men cover everything you could hope for in a commentary. It’s a must listen if you’re a fan of the film.
  • If It Bleeds, It Leads: Making Nightcrawler (HD, 5:16) Brief interviews with Dan Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz hmed, and two real life Stringers/Nightcrawlers, consultants Austin and Howard Raishbrook, who discuss the film and their profession
  • DVD of the film.
  • UV Digital Copy
  • iTunes digital copy