Nightcrawler is a standout neo-noir movie from director Dan Gilroy, who also wrote its screenplay. It is a cynical look at our insatiable need for sensational news to temporarily distract ourselves with news inundated with violence and mayhem, news that does not necessarily enrich us. The movie is set in the 2010s, a time when camcorders, cell phones, and scanners were ubiquitous.

Jake Gyllenhaal, the movie’s protagonist, plays Louis Bloom, a small-time criminal in LA who is working hard to make a name for himself in a ruthless world where jobs are hard to find, especially for crooks. Bloom is the ultimate survivor. He lacks formal education but stays informed, can be articulate, but at his core, is a selfish sociopath who cares only for himself.

After eking out a living by stealing fences and bicycles, Bloom is trying to find work in the legitimate world when fate brings him to the scene of an accident on a highway. As a team of police officers works to extricate a female victim from a wrecked car, a group of stringers who are filming the scene. After watching them with curious fascination, he approaches one of them, Joe Loder (Bill Paxton), and learns that he sells his work to one of LA’s local TV stations.

Lou, inspired by the stringers, steals a bicycle and works out a deal with a pawnbroker. In exchange for the bike, Lou gets himself a camcorder and a scanner. After monitoring police messages over the scanner, Lou gets wind of a location of an accident that had just occurred. After capturing his first recording of an accident scene, Lou goes to a local TV station to sell his work.

Nina (Renne Russo), the director of the station’s morning news, buys his work and tells him that she is interested in graphic, violent footage of accidents and crime scenes, particularly in White Areas. Ambitious Lou, seeking to expand his operation, hires Rick (Riz Ahmed), a young homeless man who is looking for a way to make ends meet.

Over time, with increased practice, Lou’s work gets progressively better, and he continues to sell his captured footage to Nina’s station. Nina is insecure in her job and begins to rely more and more on Lou’s footage to stay competitive with other channels. Lou blackmails her that he will go to another station and makes it clear that he wants more than a friendly business relationship with her.

Joe approaches Lou and proposes that they establish a partnership and work together to acquire and distribute footage. Lou rudely rejects the offer. Rick is tasked with being Lou’s navigator when they are driving to an accident scene. On one occasion, overwhelmed by Lou’s relentless aggressive tone and reckless driving, Rick misdirects Lou from the scene of an accident.

As a result, the duo arrives late at the scene of the accident. Joe, who has already captured his footage, mocks Lou for backing out of his proposal and leaves. A vengeful Lou impairs Joe’s van. When Joe drives it and meets with an accident, Lou captures footage of the wreck and in typical style, sells it.

Lou decides that it is time to up his game. By monitoring police signals, he begins to arrive at the scene of an accident before the police. He finds the corpse of the victim of the accident on the road. To get ‘more captivating’ footage, he tampers with the scene of the crime by moving the body to another position that would better serve his needs.

Lou then learns of an armed robbery in progress and once again arrives at the scene before the cops. He watches a group of thieves attempt a burglary that claims three casualties. After the crooks leave the scene, Lou enters the house and records footage of the crime scenes and some additional footage around the house.

When he presents his footage at Nina’s station, Nina is hell-bent on broadcasting this footage, amid protests from her peers. This act would cause Detective Frontieri (Michael Hyatt), a police officer, to take a keen interest in Lou. She arrives at his apartment and asks for the complete footage of the burglary. Lou, who is ahead of her, has already created an edited version of the footage that does not include the license plate of the car that the burglars used. Lou hands Frontieri this edited recording.

He then locates the car’s owner through its license plate. It is now time for Lou to put in place the next phase of his unethical, illegal, diabolical plan. This act from Lou would have disastrous implications. Will Lou meet his end because of his reckless greed? Will Frontieri finally be able to bring Lou to justice? Can Lou survive this situation and use it to expand his operation? The rest of the movie answers this question.

The cinematography of this movie is well-crafted and features some great chases. Jake Gyllenhaal, with his googly eyes, seems as if he was made for this role. Indeed, Lou is the ultimate nightcrawler, a worm, and a lowlife that came out of LA’s underbelly. He is a street-smart thug with no redeeming qualities. Everyone else, be they Rick, Nina, or Joe, are pawns in his dangerous plot to get ahead. The whole cast has thrown in great performances to enhance this movie. The movie ends with the tone of cynicism that pervades the plot. James Newton Howard’s background score works well to set the intrigue in the film. Nightcrawler is more than a neo-noir crime movie. It is a commentary on contemporary life, where one is waiting for stimulation through voyeurism via TV by vicariously experiencing violent crimes or accidents, just to take her mind away from the routine. With its nocturnal scenes of the City of Angels and its riveting action scenes, Nightcrawler is an intense visual experience that should not be missed. It is also a walk down memory lane, to a not-so-distant past where recording equipment, phones, and cars seem like old antiques.