‘Nightcrawler’ to Impress This Halloween Weekend

Clay Conger

It is a common sight to see big actors try their luck at small, independent films; either as a way to avoid being typecast or simply to broaden their acting range and the results can be mixed. Ryan Gosling had great critical success with indie films like “Lars and the Real Girl,” while Joaquin Phoenix infamously failed with his pseudo-documentary “I’m Still Here.” Perhaps it’s luck, perhaps it’s the script, but most likely the success of these projects occurs when all the pieces – the actor, the script, the direction, and the style – fit perfectly together and impress people enough to not require a big budget. “Nightcrawler,” the recent directorial debut by Dan Gilroy starring Jake Gyllenhaal, so far seems to have all those pieces intact.

When we say this film is low budget, we don’t mean like how “District 9” was produced for a mere $30 million. This movie was budgeted at an astoundingly low $4.5 million, and while such a budget can run into the risk of looking cheap, the film is as polished as most mainstream films.

The plot centers on Lou Bloom, played by Gyllenhaal, a skilled and daring reporter who focuses on covering crimes, accidents and disasters the moment they occur. This leads him to discover a particularly grisly crime that he becomes far too wrapped up in, thus setting off a plot that seems more thriller than action. The direction involves sleek driving scenes, seductive lighting and heavy use of shadows, delivering a film that is very well put together in a neo-noir suspenseful sort of way. It also helps that the majority of the film appears to take place at night.

Gyllenhaal is best cast when he has to act either vulnerable or intense, and already critics are commending his performance at the film’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. “Nightcrawler” also features veteran actors Rene Russo and Bill Paxton, as well as composer James Newton Howard, who you can thank for such scores as “Batman Begins.” Even with a small budget, this new thriller from a first time director boasts a great cast, and is definitely worth checking out.

‘Nightcrawler’ will creep into theaters on Oct. 31.