Every new piece of footage or marketing for “Nightcrawler” has me champing at the bit at this point. First Open Road Films offered up a brief viral tease of the film, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal as an ethically unbound freelance crime journalist in Los Angeles, ahead of its announcement as a Toronto Film Festival world premiere. Then came the first teaser trailer, which proved to me that cinematographer Robert Elswit was bringing the goods here. And that pulp-inspired poster was awesome. Now, a full trailer, laying out all the ethical implications at the heart of the film.
“Nightcrawler” recently jumped off what has become a crowded Oct. 17 release date (recently flooded by “Fury” and, for platforming purposes, “Men, Women & Children,” not to mention “Birdman”) and lit out for Oct 31 instead. Wise move, and if anything in the film sticks out for awards – Gyllenhaal's clearly transformative performance? Rene Russo's ambitious news lady? – this date would give it some room to breathe.
In any case, check out the new trailer embedded at the top of this post and tell us what you think. Is this a potential player or just a thriller for the fall? Also, check out the poster as well. It's like the cover of some hard boiled crime novel. I dig.
“Nightcrawler” opens Oct. 31.