Nightcrawler: An overlooked film by The Academy..
It’s the beginning of the season leading up to the biggest night in show business: The Academy Awards! I am still recalling how much fun I had last year when, for the first time ever, I got to watch every film up for The Academy Award’s Best Picture as Mike is a huge movie man so we undertook the, at times, exhausting task, of watching each nominated movie. They were all great, dramatic, clever & moving, in their own right, & now, here we are, facing that challenge once again. The nominees this year are:
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Selma
Whiplash
So far, I have only seen The Grand Budapest Hotel & boyhood. More on those films soon. Today, I would like to share with you a film that I feel was overlooked by The Academy; Nightcrawler.
Nightcrawler stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou, a shady, out of work man in Los Angeles who gets by stealing parts to re-sell. Working the streets one late night, Lou stumbles upon the scene of a car accident & is intrigued at the freelance camera men working the sight. Feeling confident that this might be a calling, Lou is quick to find himself a police scanner & camera to get right to work, & wasting no time to strike the attention of the news director at a local TV news station.
Rene Russo plays news director, Nina, who is insistent & forceful to get her ratings the highest in LA, & she may just have found her meal ticket in Lou, who you question might be a bit obsessed with her. He also hires an assistant, Ric, played by Riz Ahmed. Ric simply is a homeless, good-hearted guy trying to make a buck. Little does he know what he’s in for working for Lou, as he gets progressively eccentric & going as far as to risk his life & others to get any footage he needs.
When Lou comes upon a dreadful, fatal home invasion, even before the police, he records every little bit of evidence & footage he can get. Which, rightly so, draws the attention of The FBI following Nina’s ok to air the scenes.
I went into Nightcrawler completely unknowing what to expect, but I left raving about this film. Playing much like a gritty, edgy play, it was interesting to learn that Gyllenhaal did his best never to blink during his scenes, as well insisted on filming each scene in its consecutive order, to give a theatrical, play vibe. While I am pleased Nightcrawler is indeed up for Best Original Screenplay, I feel a nod to the movie & Gyllenhaal would have been more than appropriate.
Another reason why I loved this movie, were the shots of LA & references made to my backyard. Some scenes we swore were filmed in our neighborhood. Whether you reside in LA or dream of coming, Nightcrawler gives an oddly genuine feel & glimpse at what it is like here. The traffic, streets, versatile areas. If you are an Angelino, keep a lookout for real life local news anchors, too!
Whats your opinion on the Academy Award nominations? Any films you think were overlooked? xo