10 years later, this underrated action thriller is still as shocking, and relevant, as ever

In 2014, a movie came retired that was wide praised, but not seen by that galore people. In nan decade since Nightcrawler first came out, nan specifics of its communicative consciousness little applicable to nan world we unrecorded in. That story, which is fundamentally 1 astir nan endless hunger news stations person for unit and gore, feels little basal than it did successful 2014. Local news is not arsenic cardinal to American life arsenic it utilized to be, and nan critiques of media coming are overmuch little astir its unrepentant liking successful violence. That critique mightiness still beryllium true, but it doesn’t consciousness arsenic scathing arsenic it mightiness person successful 2014.

Yet Nightcrawler‘s entreaty is enduring moreover successful spite of nan crippled specifics. That’s because, moreover arsenic nan communicative feels little applicable than it erstwhile did, nan bigger themes that it gets astatine are arsenic important arsenic ever. Here are 3 awesome reasons why Nightcrawler has endured for nan decade since it was first released, and why it’s still arsenic irresistible to watch successful 2024 arsenic it was backmost successful 2014.

The communicative and performances still resonate

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The film, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal arsenic a Los Angeles resident named Louis Bloom who gets by connected thievery and scamming, follows Louis arsenic he stumbles into a caller profession arsenic a news cameraman. Soon, Louis discovers that nan section news position is looking for nan astir salacious footage it tin find, and eventually, he decides to transverse a fewer lines successful bid to get that footage. To get precocious ratings is paramount; each different factors for illustration decency, honor, and laws are irrelevant.

Even arsenic nan specifics of Nightcrawler resonate little than they erstwhile did, though, Nightcrawler as an entity has not mislaid immoderate of its potency. Part of that is because of Gyllenhaal’s cardinal performance, which is almost undoubtedly nan champion of his career. He creates a protagonist truthful unlikable yet truthful endlessly watchable that you extremity up hating yourself for spending clip pinch him. You go complicit successful his obscene activities. If what he is doing is to get group to watch his content, past what does it opportunity astir nan assemblage who can’t thief but watch him?

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Rene Russo and a then-unknown Riz Ahmed are conscionable arsenic bully arsenic Gyllenhaal’s cameraman and boss, respectively. Russo successful peculiar turns successful a seductive, hopeless capacity arsenic Nina, nan greeting news head of a section TV position who needs to boost her sagging ratings. She needs him to transverse lines she can’t, and isn’t awkward astir bending her ain rules, arsenic good arsenic a fewer laws, to get what she wants.

It’s a communicative astir nan acheronian of nan American dream

Louis Bloom is nan benignant of antihero that was everyplace successful nan 2010s, but 1 of nan things that makes his goals chopped is that he is, supra each else, a hustler. He’s personification who believes that pinch difficult activity and dedication, he tin make immoderate his dreams mightiness beryllium a reality. At respective points successful nan film, he espouses that mentation beautiful explicitly, trying to talk his measurement into a wide array of jobs:

“I’m a difficult worker,” he says. “I group precocious goals, and I’ve been told that I’m persistent. Now, I’m not fooling myself, sir. Having been raised pinch nan aforesaid esteem activity truthful celebrated successful schools, I utilized to expect my needs to beryllium considered. But I cognize that these days, our civilization nary agelong caters to nan occupation loyalty that could beryllium promised to earlier generations. What I believe, sir, is that bully thinks travel to those who activity their asses off.”

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Of course, Lou’s extremity to go hugely successful is really he justifies each unspeakable point he does successful nan film. When he films nan suffering of others alternatively of getting help, aliases yet commits crimes himself truthful that he tin movie them, it’s each pinch nan extremity of proving that he tin beryllium nan benignant of occurrence he believes is imaginable for him.

He’s a difficult worker, and bully things travel to those who activity hard. Nightcrawler shows america a man who useful difficult and yet gets what he wants. Along nan way, though, we travel to understand everyone that he tramples connected and tortures connected his measurement to that goal. Local TV news whitethorn not beryllium each that applicable immoderate more, but nan toxic quality of nan dream we were each sold endures.

It’s astir nan ways that video tin obscure nan truth

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One of Nightcrawler’s astir trenchant observations is that video of a crime tin obscure arsenic overmuch arsenic it reveals. Even arsenic we spot each item of a car clang aliases a execution that hasn’t moreover been reported to constabulary yet, we don’t understand nan discourse of really these things occurred, aliases really often these kinds of things hap much generally.

In nan decade since Nightcrawler was released, it’s go moreover harder to spot what you’re seeing, moreover if you person video evidence. In an era erstwhile everything is disposable online, knowing what’s existent is really much difficult it was erstwhile location were only a mates of places you could get nan news.

Killer clickbait

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It’s not difficult to ideate a 2024 type of Lou Bloom posting his videos, aliases ones that person been edited pinch AI aliases different means, each complete nan internet. His only extremity is engagement, and he is acold from alone. It turns retired that location are Lou Blooms each complete nan internet, and their only extremity is to provender nan worst instincts of nan group who devour their content.

There’s immoderate truth to nan truth that nan convulsive videos in Nightcrawler are only truthful valuable because they’re what viewers yet want to see. What’s besides true, though, is that nan worst instincts of a viewing nationalist are not needfully nan ones that should beryllium catered to. The Lou Blooms of nan world don’t attraction astir anyone’s consciousness of morality, though. They are driven wholly by nan bottommost line. Content is king. Consequences beryllium damned.

Nightcrawler is streaming connected Starz.