Thriller

NIGHTCRAWLER (2014)

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“I like to say that, if you’re seeing me , you’re having the worst day of your life”. Louis Bloom.

Jake Gyllenhaal does it again, creating another incredibly layered, interesting character that is up there with Patrick Bateman as humanitarian of the year. Here, he plays Louis Bloom a man with determination and a disconnect from humanity not seen in a main character for a while. He is a sociopath, borderline psychopath who finds himself becoming a reporter of all things gruesome on the L.A. crime scene. He is a vampire scouring the police radios at night for any potentially graphic accidents or crimes that he can film and sell.

This is a massive indictment of the news corporations and their hunger for all things macabre. It also comments on our own desires to ingest this poison; it is both prescient and powerful.

You get to see the lowest of the low, exploiting suffering and tragedy for their own selfish ends. The true bottom-feeders. It could be said that Lou would be successful whatever he was doing. I’m sure there are more than a few people in high ranking places that also share his disconnect to humanity.

Dan Gilroy writes and directs with skill as he takes us down this dark night of the soul that is also similar in tone to story of the most famous Taxi Driver of them all, Travis Bickle. Especially in the way he inhabits the night, less in a self-appointed, misguided, crusading way though no less gruesome. This is Gilroy’s directorial debut and he shows massive promise.

Riz Ahmed is on supporting duties as the nervous, insecure assistant, Rick to Lou’s CEO. He’s proving himself to be an actor of merit and talent.

There is a line in the film where Rick tells Lou that he doesn’t understand people to which Lou replies later in the scene: “ What if my problem wasn’t that I don’t understand people but that I don’t like them”. This is such a great line that allows the viewers deeper into the machinations of this twisted character.

Bill Paxton is sleazy as Lou’s competition and he does what he does very well. Rene Russo is also in the mix for sleaze merchant of the year as Nina Romina, the producer of the local tv station who will do anything to get the ratings up.

Finally back to Jake. He really is one of the greatest American film actors working today, always interesting, always believable. Here, he has created a character that will be name-checked in years to come. This role gives him free-reign to go to work and bring to life this memorable character, utterly devoid of sentiment. A nomination should have been in the bag, it is an incredible performance worthy of praise.

Be warned, though, this is not for the faint-hearted, the themes and subject matter shine a light on a grim reality that we are all responsible for in one way or another.

Brilliant.

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4/5

GOMORRA (2008)

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A gangster film with a difference; gone are the romantic, sweeping strokes of the films we know and love, and in its place is a City of God style realism that takes you to the heart of this violent world.

Based on Roberto Saviano’s best selling account of the Camora, an crime organization in Naples that is akin to the Sicilian Mafia and directed by Mateo Garrone, this incredible film is so engaging for a film that eschews conventional story-telling and in its place gives the audience a documentary style that grabs the viewer and doesn’t let go until the final credits.
Garrone lived for 2 months in the Scampia area that the film takes place in before filming the movie and Saviano, the writer of the book, had to go into hiding after the publication in fear for his life.

The violence is quick and over before you know it, making it all the more visceral and shocking, but it’s the threat of violence that looms over the proceedings that lingers. The estate that much of the film takes place in is steeped in poverty and the residents are trapped in a cycle of war between the gangs that live there.

The word mafia is never used in The Godfather, and the same happens here, Camora is never mentioned.

Gomorrah won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes the year it came out and well-deservedly so. This is a film like few others. It feels like a documentary and this is down to the brilliant editing of Marco Spoletini, the impeccable direction of Garrone but the main honours should go to the actors. Toni Servillo is the only really well-known actor here, the rest are a mixture of seasoned theatre actors and kids from the street (as in City of God).
They are so committed and rooted in reality that you never see the acting and this is testament to Garrone’s direction and their incredible talent.

The last shot is so powerful, it’s been a while since I felt this way at the end of a film.

With the release of the television series, it was finally time to watch this film that has been on my radar since it came out and what an experience it was.

This is a brilliant indictment of the corrupt, broken system that is in place in Naples to this day; brutal, raw and honest.

A must watch.

BUY THE FILM ON BLU RAY DVD HERE

DOWNLOAD THE FILM ON iTUNES HERE

4/5