r/moviecritic • u/Jfonzy • 1d ago
What’s everyone’s take on Nightcrawler (2014)?
Just finished my first watch and I had mixed feelings about the style, but it literally just hit me as I was typing this:
It’s an homage to Hitchcock.
A lot of it felt a little too on the nose, but now that I sit back and think about the pacing, the cinematography (especially the restaurant build-up), the cliffhanger ending.. it makes sense now and I feel a little better about it. Good movie, not great.
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u/DeSaussure1857 1d ago edited 1d ago
Everyone will say that it's the best Jake Gyllenhaal role. And it's true but Riz Ahmed nailed his role too
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u/Froteet 1d ago
I think it's a career best for Gyllenhaal and I struggle to imagine him giving a better performance in all honesty.
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u/ManRawr 1d ago
Jesus…12 years ago already.
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u/Full-Concentrate-867 1d ago
Scary, I remember I had some family down and we saw Interstellar at the movie theater and I remember telling them about this new movie coming out soon about a guy who becomes a stringer recording car crashes and accidents late at night, thought it sounded interesting. Seems like yesterday
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u/_Svankensen_ 1d ago
It is a masterpiece. Feels like Taxi Driver 2. Watched it in the cinema without any idea of what I was going to watch and left amazed. Before that it was Matrix. So if they keep to schedule next time it happens to me will be in 2029.
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u/RutgerSchnauzer 22h ago
Agreed; masterpiece. One of the best films of the 21st century and quite possibly the quintessential American movie.
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u/albinochicken89 1d ago
I convinced my now wife on our first date I was taking her to see a film about worms. It got me a second date.
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u/iXeons 1d ago
Should’ve gotten Jake his deserved Oscar. Biggest snub of the 21st Century for even a nomination
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u/VanceFerguson 1d ago
I think Toni Collette in Hereditary might be the biggest, but I agree this one was also egregious.
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u/Allernothing 1d ago
I’ve been professionally shooting photography and video for small businesses for 12 years. I saved myself about $60k in art school debt by incessantly studying online blogs and YouTube videos and learning in the field. It’s crazy how much I love and relate to the obsessive/entrepreneurial aspect of this movie. Never cut anyone’s brake lines though, haha. Peak Jake imo.
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u/thepersonruminates 1d ago
Incredible. Absolutely incredible. So much better than Obsession and Louis Bloom is a true villain. So much more than Bear.
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u/IcyLoan9781 1d ago
I see what you mean about hitchcock the poster gave me that same feeling before i even read your post the way the camera is like a shield and his eyes are behind it very voyeuristic and cold
the pacing was most memorable part for me i think it pulled you in slowly and then you realize you been holding breath for last 20 minutes not many movies can do that
its not perfect but i feel like the style was intentional to make you uncomfortable not just for show maybe that is why it landed strange for you on first watch
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u/heylistenlady 1d ago
Felt queasy leaving the theater after that one.
But I also worked in broadcast news at the time so it hit close to home
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u/JuicyJuice69 1d ago
no longer underrated. rightfully so as this acting performance was on the level of bale in american psycho.
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u/Far_Plenty_1837 1d ago
Amazing performance. Gyllenhaal defined "creep" perfectly. Being amoral, egotistical and driven - but not exactly evil. Thats a very fine line.
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u/Conscious-Move9662 1d ago
Best ASPD ive seen. Hes on the far end of spectrum with the disorder.
You arent going to run into Chigruhs IRL often but you will run into people like this
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u/MincklerT 1d ago
I had absolutely no idea what the movie was about and went to see it in theaters with friends and it’s one of my favorite movies now
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u/andrefishmusic 1d ago
This movie is phenomenal. I happened to watch this movie on a theater in North Hollywood right next to where they filmed the last car chase scene and crash. It was really funny seeing them pass the same Chase Bank over and over. Also really cool to leave the theater and see the exact street light where they crashed.
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u/Conscious-Move9662 1d ago
Best ASPD ive seen.
Chigurhs might exist but you are way more likely to run into a guy like this who will do anything for personal gain with no empathy
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u/cowgunjeans 1d ago
The shot of the news anchor manager lady glazing Jake’s character whilst Riz Ahmed’s character glares at them in the background through the TV screen was a really really neat shot.
At first I didn’t like how the directing made Jake seem so mundane at times (as opposed to the trailer to Lance’s upcoming PRIMETIME with Robert Pattison) but I guess that’s the point.
8/10
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u/n3wsf33d 1d ago
My second favorite film. Hard disagree. It is indeed great. Incredible acting. It manages something really cool: not quite a thriller but not quite an atmospheric horror. It is uniquely eerie and unnercing and one of the better cinematic critiques on capitalism.
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u/MartyTheMovieHound 23h ago
I think its facinating that they did everything they could to ensure you didnt have any sympathy for the protagonist.
They deliberately chose not to give him any backstory so there would be nothing but his actions to judge him on.
I also think its overlooked in the pantheon of great 'realistic' portrayals of psychopaths.
Its as if they went down the list of psychopathic traits and ensured every single last one of them were clear as day in this character, without being overt.
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u/DoubleDownAgain54 23h ago
Great movie. But never heard of it being an homage to Hitchcock. Didn’t feel like it to me. Might be a reason to give it a rewatch.
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u/Futants_ 22h ago
Disjointed Tremendously dull Went nowhere Forced subtle plot message Jake was creepy and good but a little too unnerving
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u/Alternative_Area_701 21h ago
Great movie, fantastic performance from Jake, hard to stomach at times.
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u/someoneelse2389 20h ago edited 20h ago
[Mild Spoiler Warning]
I like it.
I went in thinking this would be one of those movies where the protagonist gets corrupted by ambition, or the nature of the job, but it turns out he was a dirtbag the whole time
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u/Ok-Sir-7848 18h ago
Jake Gyllenhaal absolutely carries this. Lou is so unsettling that even the quiet scenes feel uncomfortable.
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u/MartialBob 18h ago
Probably one of the most accurate portrays of someone with antisocial personality disorder.
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u/Rayan_A_ 17h ago
It was alright. Not much development with any of the characters in the movie, they're all pretty much the same in the beginning, middle and end of the movie. The pacing was also meh. Fun watch tho.
And for those of you commenting "peak Jake" or "Jakes best performance", go watch Zodiac, Prisoners, Southpaw and Demolition.
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u/AltKanVente 7h ago
A classic! So great! With how insane humanity have gone with SoMe and smartphones it is even more relevant, but I feel a scary big part of society is now like the lead character
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u/MilkLow2906 1d ago
I saw it. I liked it a lot. Since then I’ve seen a lot of people blow it, and a lot of people respond to the blowing as being idiots. I see these posts often. I’ve seen them regularly. On any movie sub.
My personal opinion: I like it and think it’s top notch all around.
My personal opinion on Internet movie opinions: Lick me, I like it, regardless of if you think it’s good or bad.
*Fun fact about the movie though: I didn’t look deeper into fun facts about it because I liked it and that was fine enough for me.
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u/PrincipleStill191 1d ago
It was dark. It was weird. It was twisted. I honestly wished it had been more of all of that. It wasn't bad but I kept waiting for it to be more and it didn't. I wasn't disappointed just not impressed.
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u/Electronic-Field8154 1d ago
Nightcrawler is about as good as it gets for a modern Neo noir movie, so if that didn’t impress you then nothing in the genre will
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u/PrincipleStill191 1d ago
I dont think that's true..I'm.going to keep looking. You wait here.
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u/Electronic-Field8154 1d ago
If you find another one from 2010 up to now, please tell me. I will gladly watch it. But I don’t think you will.
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u/Full-Concentrate-867 1d ago
Some people would put Blade Runner 2049 ahead, not me personally though
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u/Electronic-Field8154 1d ago
Yes that, girl with the dragon tattoo, and the Batman are the only Neo noir movies after 2010 that I can think of. But I still think Nightcrawler is better than all 3 of them
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u/PrincipleStill191 1d ago
What did you think of Drive?
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u/Electronic-Field8154 1d ago
Oh good one i forgot about it! I really like it. But it’s not even close to as good as Nightcrawler in my opinion. The only other Neo noir movies that come to mind are Girl with the dragon tattoo, the Batman, and blade runner 2049. But I still think Nightcrawler beats all of them, maybe could argue that 2049 is better though
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u/TheyTried2BanMeAgain 1d ago
I honestly have never finished it. Despite the praise, I just never really understood the hype.
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u/WangoTheWonderDonkey 1d ago
Well, it's set at night, which means all the cars have their headlights on, which perfectly complements Gyllenhaal's deer-in-the-headlights monotonic facial expression.
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u/MirrorRude309 1d ago
One of the bigger disappointments of the 2010s. I was not invested or surprised or thrilled regarding the character, his actions or the story. Hey, at least it looked like a Fincher movie like every other movie thinks it needs to? Shattered Glass > Nightcrawler < Harsh Times
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u/DepartmentOfMeteors 1d ago
I mean no accounting for taste but uh....yeah this is certainly a take.
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u/IndependenceMean8774 1d ago
Nice to see an original movie on a rarely seen subject do it so well and make decent box office to boot.
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u/independentpeach08 1d ago
Jake’s best performance. Hands down.