Nightcrawler (2014)
Jake Gyllenhaal shows his acting range with this unhinged and physically animated character. With some interesting uses of colour, some tense, graphic and even violent moments, and an intriguing anti-hero, I couldn't help but be reminded of "Drive". "Nightcrawler" is this year's 'twisted psychopath in a car' movie.
I've heard plenty of people making comparisons with the film "Network" because of the two films' satirical takes on the tv news industry. What I've not seen mentioned so often is how "Nightcrawler" satirises the job market in general. Jake Gyllenhaal's protagonist knows career advice so well that it defines how he relates to other people. He is business-minded at the expense of any interest in genuine human interaction. And the main irony is that this central anti-hero succeeds because being a cold calculating psychopath makes him ideally suited to the career path he chooses. (That career path being cameraman capturing news footage. Confused as to why being a psychopath would help? Just watch...)
A great deal of what Gyllenhaal says in the movie is perfectly reasonable, yet often with little appreciation of the context. And when you recognise how empty and soulless his character is, his parroting of career advice and sales talk becomes incredibly creepy. Gyllenhaal's performance is both hyperactive and intricate, emphasising his character's urgent yet efficient approach to everything he does.
It was a surprise to see Riz Ahmed appear in this film. He's built his career on roles in films commenting on the war on terror and is clearly passionate about that topic. From, "The Road to Guantanemo" to "Four Lions" to "The Reluctant Fundamentalist", it's always been clear that he's a talented actor. However, there's often been an issue of preachiness, contrived scenarios or even bad taste which put me off those other projects. Here Ahmed's character's race and religion are both entirely irrelevant to his role. What's more, while I can't reasonably appraise is American accent, I can certainly confirm that his own British accent was entirely buried.
With fantastic performances, biting satire, a deeply unsettling anti-hero and some very effective black humour, this is vying for best film of the year in my opinion.
One last thing I should mention is how well written the dialogue is. Jake Gyllenhaal's lines spewing business-speak have been carefully compiled, but there are also a number of excellent lines all the way through, such as "It looks more real on tv".Unusually, I found myself wishing I had a notepad to jot down some of the lines to share. I'm afraid you'll have to wait til you see the film to enjoy them. ;)
A+