In my zeal to see the Oscar nominated films, I wasn’t in a
hurry to watch, “Nightcrawler." From the trailer it appeared to be just another
slick Hollywood thriller. But since
thrillers are more fun on the big screen, I figured I’d better catch it before
it was pulled from the theater, replaced by the recent Best Picture nominees.
“Nightcrawler,” is more than a thriller, it’s a fable about
the American Dream.
Unable to find a job in this economy, Lou Bloom (award-winner
Jake Gyllenhaal) is desperate to make a living. He is a wily night scavenger –
stealing scrap metal or doing whatever he can to make money until he can find a
way to get in the game. He tells a perspective employer that he works hard to
get ahead, but he has to be in the game in order to win it. Like the American
public, he has been sold the American Dream and will do anything to get
it. He happens onto a profitable way to
make a living, videotaping gruesome crime scenes for the local news. He learns
from another news videographer, (nightcrawler) that “if it bleeds, it leads.”
An integral part of selling the American Dream are the images
presented in the media. The viewers are the consumers buying the American
Dream. Local news stations employ fear mongering to increase their ratings so
they can sell more advertising, so corporations can sell more products to the
consumer.
In, “Nightcrawler,” affluent people are the consumers that
make the whole system work. The media manipulates
their fears to get them to watch the programs. The best-selling images show urban
crime creeping into the suburbs. The local news station buys and sells images
of bloody carjackings and home invasions perpetrated by minorities.
But writer/director Dan Gilroy pushes the envelope
even farther by presenting the moral quandary: How far would you go to get that money shot? When
you get to the crime scene before the cops, do you get the graphic footage or
do you help the victim? This is a metaphor for an important theme in politics
today: capitalism vs. humanity.
The movie becomes even more frightening as we discover that
Bloom will do absolutely anything to get the money shot. His homeless “intern” Rick, (Riz Ahmed) isn’t
a person to him at all, but a means to make more money. He doesn't take care of
his one employee, but puts him in the line of fire. Through Rick’s eyes we see
and feel the danger as their red Challenger speeds to the next crime
scene. Seen from his perspective inside the car, these
are the most thrilling “chase scenes” I have ever experienced. My heart was in my throat
through most of the movie. But what makes it scarier is that the female news
editor (Rene Russo) has bought into this myth that we should do whatever it takes to make
money. In this day and age, we reward sociopaths and accept them as players in
our capitalistic society. Only it’s
happening in broad daylight.
If there is any justice in Hollywood, Dan Gilroy will win a Best Screenplay nod for his brilliant script. Why wasn't, "Nightcrawler,"- one of the most well-reviewed,
entertaining movies of the year - nominated for best picture? I’ll leave that to you to figure out. Writer/director Dan Gilroy put together a great team that believed in his
vision. Together they created the movie they wanted to make without interference from financial backers. I call that
inspiring.
Movie blessings!
Jana Segal
www.reelinspiration.blogspot.com
.jpg)