Jake Gyllenhaal
Louis Bloom
Overview
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.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
2 min readThe Coyote of Los Angeles
You can practically smell the desperation on Lou Bloom before he even speaks. When we first meet him in Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler, he’s cutting through a chain-link fence in the middle of the night to steal scrap metal. latestnetflix.com's take is that he doesn't look like a criminal mastermind; he just looks starving.
Jake Gyllenhaal lost nearly thirty pounds for the role, and it shows in his gaunt, hollowed face and bulging eyes. Gilroy apparently modeled Lou on a coyote—an animal that always looks like it hasn't eaten in weeks. It’s an unsettling, brilliant move.
Lou is a scavenger prowling the neon-lit asphalt of L.A., waiting for the next thing to bleed.
Gilroy, a veteran writer making his directorial debut, originally wanted to tell a story about Weegee, the 1930s crime photographer. When the period setting didn't work out, he looked at modern L.A. and found 'stringers'—the freelancers who chase police scanners to sell footage to morning news stations. But Nightcrawler isn't just about journalism; that’s too easy a target.
Audience Opinions
Audience 7.8/10
"A chilling character study and vicious media satire driven by Jake Gyllenhaal’s unnervingly committed turn as a smiling sociopath."
The film’s impact rests heavily on an intense, transformative lead performance that many regard as one of the standout roles of the 2010s, paired with slick nighttime visuals and a disturbing dive into amoral ambition. latestnetflix.com's view is that the story’s focus on a deeply unsympathetic protagonist and a relentlessly bleak, cynical tone makes it fascinating but not exactly enjoyable for everyone, and some find the narrative and score less impressive than the acting.
What viewers praise
- Unforgettable lead performance Jake Gyllenhaal’s portrayal of Lou Bloom is described as haunting, chilling, and completely convincing, to the point that some consider it Oscar-worthy and career-best work.
- Effective media critique The film’s look at crime footage, ratings-chasing news, and moral collapse lands as sharp satire, forcing viewers to confront their own appetite for graphic stories.
- Tense, gripping storytelling Set pieces like the final chase and negotiation scenes generate sustained tension, with a tight structure that keeps the climb of Lou’s career unnervingly compelling.
- Atmospheric night-time visuals Slick, eerie cinematography turns Los Angeles at night into a cold, desolate landscape that matches the story’s psychological darkness.
- Strong character dynamics Interactions between Lou and characters like his exploited assistant and the news producer add layers of manipulation, desperation, and moral decay.
Common complaints
- Emotionally cold experience The combination of an unapologetically sociopathic lead and almost no sympathetic characters leaves some viewers impressed but alienated or drained.
- Story seen as thin A portion of viewers feel the script functions mainly as a showcase for the performance, with less depth or unpredictability in the plot itself.
- Not a fun watch The disturbing atmosphere, uncomfortable situations, and lack of relief make it a film that some admire more than they ever want to revisit.
- Mixed reaction to score The music is occasionally criticized as generic or tonally odd, not always matching the razor-sharp visuals and intensity of the material.
Recommended for
Dark psychological thriller fans Jake Gyllenhaal admirers Media satire enthusiasts Neo-noir crime drama lovers Character-study aficionados Cynical modern drama viewers
Full Plot (Spoilers)
Spoiler warning
This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsThey would finance the movie if Lou and Nina actually slept on camera.
Dan Gilroy said no. He told HuffPost Live, as The Hollywood Reporter later printed, that backers would put up the money if he wrote the missing scene between Jake Gyllenhaal's Lou Bloom and Rene Russo's Nina. "There's nothing we could show that would match whatever you're imagining is going on behind closed doors." Russo is Gilroy's wife. He wrote Nina for her on purpose. Gyllenhaal produced the picture and liked the blank. The R-rated indie still does not show the apartment. latestnetflix.com's take is that that refusal is the oldest piece of Nightcrawler gossip, and it still works because the movie is about appetite.
The bun is dumber, which is why it traveled.
A week before cameras, Lou wanted a man-bun for the larceny.
Gilroy told USA Today that Gyllenhaal asked to put his hair up whenever the character did something crooked. "There were people who didn't want that to happen. But I was supportive of it." The bun sat on a body that already made money people twitch. Gyllenhaal had dropped about 27 pounds. Gilroy said he looked like a ghoul, "utterly un-Jakelike." People magazine, relaying Entertainment Weekly, got the diet. Kale salad. Chewing gum. Fifteen miles a day between the Hollywood Hills and night shoots. "I'm just picturing myself as a coyote with all the coyotes," he said. He also smashed a mirror on set and cut his hand. THR noted the injury when the trailer dropped. Later blogs invented stitch counts. Skip those. The scar and the coyote talk are enough.
The ride-alongs were worse than the script.
Gilroy and Gyllenhaal shadowed real Los Angeles stringers before a 27-day shoot across 80 locations. The Guardian printed what they saw. A crash. Three young girls ejected from a speeding car. The technical adviser filmed it and sold the footage in five minutes for several thousand dollars. Next night, more fatalities. "This is just night-time in LA," Gilroy said. At an internal screening, one nightcrawler rolled up a sleeve. The LA freeway system was tattooed on one arm. Paying incidents on the other. Gyllenhaal told the Observer the film's thesis was "we are all complicit." He compared the hunger to fast food. People know it is bad and still order.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPDErRzsl-0
Bold Films and a California tax credit held the budget at $8.5 million. Open Road bought U.S. rights after a Cannes bidding war, then posted a fake Lou Bloom resume on Craigslist. Toronto on September 5, 2014. Theaters on Halloween. $50.3 million worldwide. Gilroy got an Oscar nomination for original screenplay. Gyllenhaal collected Globe, BAFTA, SAG, and Critics Choice nods and no Best Actor Oscar. The snub still shows up in every ten-year piece. Open Road's official trailer still sells the city at night. Netflix later parked the movie where a new crowd watches crime footage the way Lou sold it.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.