In my humble opinion, “Nightcrawler” was one of the most under-rewarded films of the 2014 Oscar season. You had a standout performance from Jake Gyllenhaal as a dead-eyed videographer who captures footage of car accidents and murder scenes for profit. You had a number of mind-blowing supporting characters. And once you caught your breath at the end of the movie, you had the ickiest feeling of dread about the people who control news. Here are five other reasons to catch “Nightcrawler,” now on Netflix.
5. LA has never seen more disgusting.
Every street corner in LA is a stage for bloody trauma and sociopathic opportunism, according to “Nightcrawler.” Pretty delicious.
4. Riz Ahmed doesn't know what he's getting into, and his reactions make the movie seem real.
Even a hyper-realistic ode to a sociopath needs a conscience. Riz Ahmed provides that, and his simultaneous horror and complicity make for a jarring character arc.
3. Jake Gyllenhaal is just creepy enough.
This isn't the comely, smooth Gyllenhaal of “Brokeback Mountain” and “Love and Other Drugs.” This is an unscrupulous cash-grabber. And he knows how to make non-believers adapt to his pathological intensity.
2. Rene Russo is the 2015 update of Faye Dunaway in “Network.”
When you add up footage of bloodbaths, carnage, accidents, injuries, and gunfights, what do you get? Ratings, according to Rene Russo's character Nina Romina, an iron-fisted news producer willing to air anything to spike her viewership. We don't get very many insane female reporters on the big screen anymore. I miss Gale Weathers from “Scream”!
1. The ending.
Just watch it. A perfect, operatic conclusion.