By Ayana Arroyo
Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a thrilling performance in “Nightcrawler.” Through the entirety of the film Gyllenhaal keeps viewers at the edges of their seats.
Louis Bloom, played by Gyllenhaal, is a jobless thief whom one day stumbles upon the world of crime journalism.
Being immediately captivated, Louis trades in a stolen bike for a small camcorder and police scanner.
That same night he goes out to film a horror accident and soon discovers, this is something he loves.
As time progresses we see Louis becoming more obsessed with this career choice. After a while Louis decides to hire Rick, played by Riz Ahmed, an intern whom helps him with small needs in the beginning such as giving directions on what routes to take and parking the car.
With Louis’s perfect filming angles, which every other cameraman seems to miss, come extreme and unthinkable limits.
The audience sees how Louis interferes in crime scenes and strategies unpredictable, life threatening plans, all to get the perfect news story which, he then sells to a desperate and equally twisted news director Nina Romina, played by Rene Russo.
Louis’ over-the-top ambition puts his life at risk every single day. Every night he heads out for work, he keeps audiences guessing what he will do next.
Although Louis is slightly insane, the audience can’t help but root for him and want to know just how far his limits will go, just to discover he might not have any.
With his perfect, smart-mouthed responses and overly ambitious traits, it’s no wonder the audience will find him weirdly appealing.
Gyllenhaal does a stupendous job portraying an insomniac sociopath who will do whatever it takes to get to the top and to acquire what he wants.
“Nightcrawler” is out in theaters this Friday and is rated R for violence including graphic images and for strong language.