I just watched a movie tonight.Nightcrawler, from 2014. In it, Jake Gyllenhaal plays Lou Bloom, a petty thief who changes careers and starts providing stinger video footage of violent crime to an LA newscast. Not to give too much away, but it goes pretty well for him.
Gyllenhaal is good at slowly revealing himself to be detestable. And this is a revelation. Other characters react badly to him from the beginning, but most of them are jerks. He couldn't be any worse, could he? Well...
Los Angeles looks very pretty in this movie. In a desolate way, at least. It sometimes feels like the photos in a Gregory Crewdson exhibit have come to life. There's a large scale creepy saturation to it.
I'm not sure I see a lot of social significance in the movie, as some critics have claimed for it. It might lean too heavily on "one bad apple" explanations for what's wrong in the world. Still, it doesn't feel focus-grouped. The movie does what it set out to do with a remarkable concentration, which makes a kind of statement in itself.
Gyllenhaal is good at slowly revealing himself to be detestable. And this is a revelation. Other characters react badly to him from the beginning, but most of them are jerks. He couldn't be any worse, could he? Well...
Los Angeles looks very pretty in this movie. In a desolate way, at least. It sometimes feels like the photos in a Gregory Crewdson exhibit have come to life. There's a large scale creepy saturation to it.
I'm not sure I see a lot of social significance in the movie, as some critics have claimed for it. It might lean too heavily on "one bad apple" explanations for what's wrong in the world. Still, it doesn't feel focus-grouped. The movie does what it set out to do with a remarkable concentration, which makes a kind of statement in itself.
2 comments:
really enjoyed this movie, & gyllenhaal is genuinely, soullessly excellent. thought it perfectly captured the sort of reptilian pathological aggression necessary to succeed in 'the big city' as it now exists (& l.a. does indeed look fabulous in this). rene russo is also great...
the world needs more dark little films like this. last night, we re-watched 'house of games': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Riy4God934c. david mamet's always fun :) ...
as is his friend (who appears in this & other mamet movies), ricky jay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWvRorX0KhQ...
"Reptilian pathological aggression." That's an excellent characterization. He says something along the lines of "What if my problem isn't that I don't understand people, but that I don't like them?" And in a way he does understand people, or at least he's willing to learn from them, if the wrong lessons. Riz Ahmed, who I hadn't really seen before, is also great in this.
House of Games is always worth a rewatch, even after you know the tricks. They're just so well delivered. The Spanish Prisoner is another great, tricksy flick from Mamet.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPQpp3WL5kk
And yes, Ricky Jay appears in that one, too. He does do great with sleight of hand.
Post a Comment