Taglines: The city shines brightest at night.
Lou Bloom, an ambitious young man desperate for work, discovers the world of L.A. crime journalism. When Lou learns of a group of freelance camera crews who film crashes, fires, murder and other mayhem, Lou muscles his way into the dangerous realm of night crawling, where a police siren wail means a possible windfall, and victims are converted into dollars and cents. Aided by Nina, a local TV news veteran, Lou blurs the line between observer and participant.
Nightcrawler is an American crime thriller film written and directed by Dan Gilroy. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, and Bill Paxton. Marking Gilroy’s directorial debut, it tells the story of a driven young man who stumbles upon the underground world of Los Angeles freelance crime journalism.
About the Story
Caught stealing from a Los Angeles construction site, Louis Bloom is confronted by a security guard for trespassing. He attacks the security guard, steals his watch and leaves with the stolen material. After negotiating a price for the material at a scrap yard, Bloom asks for a job, but the foreman says he does not hire thieves.
Driving home, Bloom sees a car crash and pulls over. Stringers—freelance cameramen—arrive and shoot the crash. Inspired, Bloom steals a racing bicycle and trades it for a camcorder and a radio scanner. That night, Bloom shoots the aftermath of a carjacking. When he moves closer to get a better shot of the victim, he and a rival stringer are kicked off the crime scene. Bloom eavesdrops on his rival’s phone conversation about selling his footage to a news station.
Bloom goes to the same station to sell his footage. He meets the morning news director of a local TV station, Nina Romina, who tells him the station is most interested in footage of violent incidents in affluent neighborhoods. Bloom hires an assistant, Rick, a young man desperate for money, and begins shooting incidents. To get better footage, Bloom tampers with crime scenes and in one case moves a body. Bloom’s rival Joe Loder has better equipment and beats Bloom to several important stories. As Bloom’s work gains traction, he buys better equipment and a sports car.
Bloom takes Nina to dinner and threatens to end his business with her unless she has sex with him, knowing her job depends on his footage. The next day he turns down a business offer from Loder, who beats him to an important plane crash story later that night. Nina explodes in anger at Bloom, demanding he get better footage and keep his end of their bargain. Bloom sabotages Loder’s van, causing him to suffer a severe injury in a car crash, which Bloom arrives on scene to film.
Nightcrawler
Directed by: Dan Gilroy
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Anne McDaniels, Ann Cusack, Riz Ahmed, Michael Hyatt
Screenplay by: Dan Gilroy
Production Design by: Kevin Kavanaugh
Cinematography by: Robert Elswit
Film Editing by: John Gilroy
Costume Design by: Amy Westcott
Set Decoration by: Meg Everist
Music by: James Newton Howard
MPAA Rating: R for violence including graphic images, and for language.
Studio: Open Road Films
Release Date: October 31, 2014
Visits: 83
