Nightcrawler - Blu-ray

Film: Until now, loner Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) has financed his modest living by stealing manhole covers, copper or bicycles. But when he observes cameraman Joe Loder (Bill Paxton) filming an accident one night and learns that there's good money to be made in drastic footage, he's determined: he wants to become a nightcrawler, too. After procuring a camera, he immediately goes on the hunt for lucrative footage, which he then offers to a TV news station. Although his equipment is still extremely shoddy, news director Nina (Rene Russo) is immediately taken with Lou's unscrupulous way of keeping the camera right on top of the victims. And so she hires him as a freelancer, unaware of the means he will employ to deliver ever more exclusive and spectacular images...

With Nightcrawler, acclaimed screenwriter Dan Gilroy (The Bourne Legacy, The Fall) delivers a superb directorial debut. His extremely atmospheric film is a successful blend of media satire laced with bitter cynicism and gritty big city thriller. The film lives from its intense, atmospheric images of Los Angeles at night, but of course also from its great leading actor. Because what Jake Gyllenhaal, for whom the English word creepy seems to have been invented here, delivers as an ice-cold-calculating cinematographer is simply great. Gyllenhaal manages to create a character that repels and fascinates viewers in equal measure.

The fierce struggle of the freelance cameramen to get the most shocking images possible, which is at the heart of the action here, may seem a little overdone at moments. But if you take a closer look at the reports on the American news channels in particular, you quickly realize that the story of Nightcrawler is probably closer to reality than you might imagine. Especially the strong pressure a not-so-young news director like Nina is under probably absolutely hits the nail on the head.

What makes the character of Lou Bloom so fascinating is his ability to manipulate and abuse those around him for his own purposes. The discussion with his intern Rick (Riz Ahmed) about a raise alone, in which he cleverly makes Rick feel as if he holds all the cards, only to fob him off with a still measly salary, is both superbly written and superbly acted. It's moments like this, coupled with the dense atmosphere, that make the film exciting and extremely entertaining throughout, despite the many very quiet moments.

Nightcrawler is a very clever, cynical and superbly acted look into the depths of sensationalist journalism and a society that wants to be fed the most shocking news possible for breakfast. A great directorial debut that underlines how talented and versatile Jake Gyllenhaal is. For this there is a very clear: Absolutely worth seeing!!!

Picture + Sound: Technically, the Blu-ray delivers exactly the good standard that can be expected from a current studio production. The picture is absolutely clean, the atmospheric colouring and overall sharpness are convincing and there is hardly any reason to complain about the matching of contrasts and black levels. The very special atmosphere of Los Angeles at night comes across very well. The audio, which is in a pleasantly vibrant DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, carries the dialogue and soundscape of L.A. coherently from the speakers and has a few good surround moments to offer as well. Good!

Extras: The only area where the disc disappoints is in the bonus material. There's nothing here beyond a 5:15 min promo making of and the trailer. Too bad!

Conclusion: Nightcrawler is a great mix of gritty drama and bitterly wicked satire that thrills with an intriguing atmosphere and a great Jake Gyllenhaal. A film that entertains superbly, but also makes you very thoughtful. On the Blu-ray, the very special atmosphere of L.A. at night can unfold well in the home theater. When it comes to bonus material, however, the disc disappoints. But that is still no reason to leave this great work in the store. Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp