All Rise...

Judge Erich Asperschlager is a very very quick learner.

The Charge

"No matter what, keep shooting."

Opening Statement

There are plenty of movies about the American Dream, but few lay bare the endgame of capitalism like Nightcrawler, which marks the directorial debut of veteran screenwriter Dan Gilroy. Like Martin Scorcese's The Wolf of Wall Street, this filters culture at large through the twisted story of one man. Where the former peels back the dirty band-aid of the stock boom '90s, Nightcrawler takes aim at media culture and the bottom-feeders who thrive on the public's demand for depravity.

Facts of the Case

While most people are sleeping, a pack of freelance photographers roam the Los Angeles night, glued to police scanners and rushing to crime scenes in hopes they will be the first to document the latest tragedy. These "stringers" and "nightcrawlers" make a living selling horrific footage to news stations. Into this world steps upwardly mobile petty criminal Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), whose drive and lack of empathy make him the perfect man for the job.

The Evidence

Nightcrawler is a marvel. It's the rare film that works on both the literal level of what we see onscreen and as the stylized representation of modern culture. Lou Bloom isn't just a chilling, fascinating character; he's also a physical manifestation of our hunger for instant, intimate tragedy. It's not surprising that these nightcrawlers exist. News outlets of all stripes live and die by their ability to secure exclusives and catch the attention of a short-attention-span audience. The situation is most desperate for local TV stations waging a losing war against Internet news resources and 24-hour cable networks.

In Nightcrawler, this desperation creates a market for stringers racing through the night to get the best, bloodiest footage of car wrecks, murders, and home invasions. "If it bleeds, it leads" isn't new, but it provides the framework for entrepreneurial sociopath Lou Bloom to embrace his true calling. What Bloom lacks in empathy he makes up for with a photographic memory of every business strategy he's ever read online. Unlike shallow execs who spout corporate buzzwords to sound smart, Lou treats these maxims as sacred text—the key to unlocking his true financial potential.

Lou Bloom looks at the world from the outside. As a nightcrawler, he channels that detachment through the camera lens. Where his inability to connect with others might once have been seen as a deficiency, now it's what gives him the edge over his competitors. It's what allows him to make the leap from documenting tragedy to altering crime scenes, to even worse behavior. It's what allows him to manipulate those around him into relationships he treats like project milestones on the Gantt chart of his life. The more his newfound profession rewards his worst tendencies, the more emboldened he becomes to succeed at any cost.

Lou Bloom is a memorable character as written by Dan Gilroy, but he reaches all-time great status as portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal. No matter what the increasingly irrelevant Academy Awards say, Gyllenhaal's transcendent performance is one of the best of last year. He prepared for the role by losing 28 lbs, and looks positively hollow. Lean as a coyote and dead-eyed as a shark with a smile to match, Gyllenhaal's Bloom is the perfect predator. The face he shows the world is calm and calculating. Lou Bloom knows exactly what he wants and how he's going to get it. We get a peek behind that mask just once, in a terrifying scene where an enraged Lou lets loose his frustrations on a bathroom mirror that doesn't stand a chance.

Bloom's slogan is "If you're seeing me you're having the worst day of your life"—a sentiment that extends beyond his subjects to his coworkers. His TV producer ally, played by Rene Russo, respects Lou's methods but her amorality comes less from her nature than a desperation not to slip into irrelevance. Russo nails the role, playing tough to mask her fear of failure. Her eyes are as heavily made up as Gyllenhaal's are stripped bare. She's a big fish in a small pond who meets a spear fisherman. Her instincts aren't as sharp as Lou's but she's smart enough to avoid the fate of other people infected by Bloom, including a veteran nightcrawler (Bill Paxton) jealous of the young upstart, and Lou's eager assistant Rick (Riz Ahmed).

Ahmed brings sweet soul to a complicated part. Rick is drawn into Lou's world because he needs a job, but he's never fully assimilated by his employer. After a montage that covers Lou Bloom's rise to top of his profession, it's clear Rick is used to doing what Lou asks of him, but he shows enough reticence when Bloom crosses the line that we can see his lingering humanity. Ahmed deftly balances his character's ambition and conscience. In less capable hands, Rick could have been little more than a foil for Lou. Ahmed creates a real human character we can shake our heads at and sympathize with. If Bloom is the heartless corporation, Rick is every office drone who sells his soul for a steady paycheck.

Universal's Nightcrawler (Blu-ray) shines, with a top-notch presentation and bonus features that, while slim, reward fans with an illuminating peek behind the scenes. The 2.40:1/1080p transfer is gorgeous. Gilroy and cinematographer Robert Elswit wring every bit of detail and dynamic lighting out of a film that takes place largely at night. The slick production is all the more impressive considering it was shot over a mere 28 nights on a very tight budget. The high-def transfer boasts rich color, deep blacks, and strong detail in both the digitally shot nighttime and film stock daytime scenes. The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track is active and well-balanced. Nightcrawler's sound design builds with Bloom's rise to the top. Quiet moments give way to explosive sequences. Ambient noises mix with layered audio cues, radio chatter, and James Newton Howard's atmospheric, propulsive score.

In addition to DVD and digital copies of the film, Nightcrawler comes with two extras: the 5-minute "If It Bleeds, It Leads: Making Nightcrawler" featurette, and a feature-length audio commentary with the Gilroy brothers—writer/director Dan, producer Tony, and editor John. The behind-the-scenes featurette is fairly standard EPK stuff, intercutting footage from the film with cast and crew talking heads. The commentary, on the other hand, provides fascinating insight into the filmmaking process, with three veterans who aren't afraid to say what they think. It's an engaging mix of inside baseball, film philosophy, and self-reflection.

Closing Statement

Lou Bloom is a sociopath who profits from other people's despair. He is laser-focused on advancement, self-promotion, and accumulating wealth. He may not have the wardrobe or corner office of a CEO, but freed from the rules and politics of an office environment he is the perfect capitalist—cruising the night in a muscle car, hustling for a buck, with no regard for anyone but himself. He is a monster, but he is an American monster. Nightcrawler doesn't condemn Bloom for chasing tragedy, or the audience for the bloodlust that allows people like him to thrive. It simply tells his story and lets us come to our own conclusions. The scary part is knowing that someone will walk away thinking Lou Bloom is the hero.

The Verdict

A Not Guilty verdict is a gift you give yourself.

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