Jake Gyllenhaal's Chilling Thriller Gets a Stunning Shout Factory Upgrade
In the world of broadcast news, a nightcrawler is considered to be a freelance videographer who chases stories overnight to provide coverage for news outlets, A.K.A. stringers. These people get paid for the footage they provide, so they are willing to do almost anything to "get the shot". In the 2014 Nightcrawler, Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal; Donnie Darko) tends to take things a step too far in pursuit of videos that the news will pay top dollar to obtain. Written and directed by Dan Gilroy (Roman J. Israel, Esq.), the movie was a box office and critical success. Thanks to Shout Factory, the movie will be available for purchase in 4K Steelbook this week.
Louis is a two-bit criminal who stumbles across a car accident one night, only to see men with video cameras filming. When he inquired, he learned they were freelancers who listened to police scanners to get to the scene first. Intrigued, Louis "trades" a stolen bicycle for an old video camera and police scanner and starts becoming a stringer/nightcrawler. The more he works, the more he gets paid, and he upgrades his equipment and his car. He sells his footage to KWLA 6 morning news director Nina Romina (Rene Russo; The Thomas Crown Affair), but he wants more from her and becomes demanding about it. However, when Louis crosses the line and withholds footage from the police, impeding their investigation, it becomes obvious that Louis' "quirkiness" is more along the lines of psychopathic.
Gyllenhaal does a fantastic job portraying Louis, a man who is driven but whose psychopathic tendencies take that drive too far. Nina's determination, as played expertly by Russo, feeds Louis' drive to the point of sending him over the edge of what is right and wrong. Bill Paxton (Twister) and Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) back these two up well in smaller roles.
This title was ripe for a technical upgrade, and Shout Factory did a great job with it. The Dolby Vision video quality is excellent as it allows for clarity of picture, especially with the night scenes, of which there are many. There are moments of grain when Louis is showing the video footage he shot with the old video camera he got from the pawn shop. However, the overall video quality is so good that minute details can be detected easily.
The Dolby Atmos audio track that was added by Shout Factory is incredible, with layered tracks that add robust sounds to the film. The soundtrack surrounds the viewer, and the ambient noise, like traffic sounds and gun shots radiate from the height speakers.
Besides the 4K and Blu-ray Discs housed in a collector's steenbok case, there are two new extras included with this release. The extras are NEW Audio Commentary With Film Historian Joe von Appen, NEW "Making the News: Scoring Nightcrawler" - Interview With Composer James Newton Howard, Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Dan Gilroy, Producer Tony Gilroy, and Editor John Gilroy, "If It Bleeds, It Leads" - Making Nightcrawler and the Theatrical Trailer.
I enjoyed most of the movie, though I did think it was a little bit long, and I wanted Gyllenhaal's Louis to become more unhinged than he ultimately did. However, Nightcrawler is an excellent example of a thriller with a script and visuals that grab the audience from the beginning and doesn't let go until the very end. With a terrific cast and a unique story, Nightcrawler was destined to become a hit, and it did. Now, with the release of the 4K Steel book from Shout Factory, fans can own it for themselves.
Grade: A-
Nightcrawler, now available in a 4K Steelbook from Shout Factory.
