Our take
The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom, an impromptu freelance videographer who begins covering the crime world in LA for a local TV station. Almost as dark as a mystery can get, it is disturbing, and plays out as a combination of “Drive” and “The Network”. The film is visually stunning as well as immensely suspenseful. It then becomes almost impossible to look away, even when you’re the most horrified by just how far Bloom is willing to go to reach success. Gyllenhaal’s performance is widely compared to that of Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver, which should give you an idea of its caliber.
What it won
Oscars
1 nom
Golden Globes
1 nom
BAFTA
4 noms
SAG Awards
1 nom
Spirit Awards
2 wins · 3 noms
WGA
1 nom
Nat. Board of Review
1 win
LAFCA
1 nom
The story
When Lou Bloom, desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.
Elsewhere
"It's a no-nonsense, old-school exercise, with a tinge of borderline trashiness."
— Jonathan Romney
"A monster movie for the modern age."
— Adam Woodward
The details
ICYMI>>>I surely did miss that one and I’m sorry I did.
That was interesting to say the least. Gyllenhall’s performance was out of this world. He played the creep to perfection.
I liked this movie a lot due to the suspense and dark matter.
The cons to the movie is the response times by the police in some instances. No spoilers but a police chase that lasts for more than 3 minutes and only has one cruiser….highly unlikely. And then the montage was a bit lengthy, but that was it. I actually started singing “Montage” from Team America – World Police while it was happening. haha “….even Rocky had a montage…” haha
The rest is realistically plausible which made for a very intriguing and excellent movie.
Highly recommend this movie.
4 stars based solely on the two cons. Rest was incredible.
Another title that subverts expectations, but if you’re looking for the perfect Jake Gyllenhaal/weird matching, you have to go with Enemy, now on Netflix. In fact, any film by Denis Villeneuve won’t disappoint you.