Last night, and actor Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain, approved
Nightcrawler) faced off against Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon in a water war. The duo played the card game “War” but the winner in each hand had the opportunity to throw water at their opponent.

The results were hilarious. Check out the video below.

Last night, nurse
actor Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain, Nightcrawler) faced off against Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon in a water war. The duo played the card game “War” but the winner in each hand had the opportunity to throw water at their opponent.

The results were hilarious. Check out the video below.

Last night, tadalafil
actor Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain, Nightcrawler) faced off against Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon in a water war. The duo played the card game “War” but the winner in each hand had the opportunity to throw water at their opponent.

The results were hilarious. Check out the video below.

Jake Gyllenhaal is the nightcrawler. In the same way that Anthony Perkins once brought Norman Bates to life and in the same way that Anthony Hopkins once played Hannibal Lecter, this
Gyllenhaal embodies his character in the new drama Nightcrawler. He is sensitive, manipulative, menacing but above all of these things, he is difficult to look away from.

Gyllenhaal plays Louis Bloom here, an ambitious man who strives to be successful. He doesn’t know what success looks like but he can recognize failure and he sees that in himself. He doesn’t know what he’ll be successful at either; he just knows that he will be because he’s ambitious enough to take everything he wants.

After stumbling upon a car accident, Bloom witnesses a camera crew trying to record the most grotesque and exploitative video they can of the victims. How much does it pay, he wonders. No matter. He’ll find out on his own. He eventually does— filming violent crime scenes and bloody accidents, it turns out, is a lucrative business— and Bloom eventually hires a homeless man named Rick (Riz Ahmed) to serve as his intern for his new business.

Above everything else, Nightcrawler is a character-driven story and Gyllenhaal seems to relish the opportunity to bring the main character to life. It’s a dark role, for sure, but one that the actor can embrace with verve and excitement. As we watch Bloom’s descent into insanity, we also witness Gyllenhaal bringing forth some of his best gifts as an actor.

Although Gyllenhaal will receive much of the credit here, the story—written and directed by Dan Gilroy— is exceptionally intelligent, letting viewers slowly adjust to the movie’s sense of logic. “If it bleeds, it leads,” a rival cameraman (Bill Paxton) notes about filming crime scenes and bloody accidents, a sentiment that is as clear today on television as it ever was. Nina Romina (Rene Russo), a news producer, later takes that idea to its extreme noting, “Think of our newscast as a screaming woman running down the street with her throat cut.” It’s a cutthroat business, she knows, and the best way to goose ratings is to show— with pixelated faces, if legally necessary— a few cut throats and create an undeniable sense of fear in the viewers.

It’s a fear that will keep viewers tuned in and watching the broadcast until the threat—real or not— is erased.

That doesn’t sound too unbelievable, does it?

I’ll leave it to others to argue over what fears viewers should truly be wary of but this brutal film speaks to important themes of media manipulation, the blood thirstiness of some news organizations and the idea that some are willing to do anything to get viewers watching their station. Bloom is an undeniable villain here but what he does brings up a lot of moral and ethical issues that the film is hesitant to resolve. Is there a right way to do the job he succeeds at? Is everything he does morally suspect?

There are no easy answers but Nightcrawler is eager to explore the topic. It’s true there are some scenes where Bloom— even at his most pleasant— would bring chills to anyone who spoke to him and a few of the characters are naïve about him, even when his true intentions seem evident. But Nightcrawler— above anything— is a smart thriller, featuring strong performances and an important subject worthy of debate.