Netflix is set to lose a brilliant dark thriller. Nightcrawler is a superb movie that leaves the platform on March 29th and you need to watch it.
Watching the news these days can be pretty bleak. But one movie released 10 years ago was already ahead of the trend. It's now leaving Netflix but you need to catch it before it goes off the air.
Nightcrawler is a brilliant and disturbing movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal that is set to leave the streaming service on March 29th. This is a dark movie that I like to imagine almost as what Donnie Darko's life would look like as an adult.
But Gyllenhaal doesn't reprise his role as Donnie, he is instead Lou Bloom - a shady and unerringly cold creep of a man. Starting off as a petty crook, he witnesses a car accident on the highway - and a cameraman (Bill Paxton) racing to be first on the scene to film the horrific sight. Bloom is amazed to hear that this man makes a career as a 'stringer', someone who captures accidents and crimes on tape to sell to local news.
Lou decides he wants in on the action and sets up the rather redundantly named 'Video Production News', which is really just him with a police scanner and camera he got from the pawn shop. After some struggles to be first to the scene, he takes time to learn the police codes and employs a local struggler (a brilliant Riz Ahmed) to provide assistance. As Lou rises up the industry, he goes to more and more desperate lengths to make money. Cute stories about puppies and rainbows don't pay the bills.
There are plenty of laughs, but this is primarily a grim thriller and I have to admit it's easy to find yourself holding your breath unknowingly from the tension. Nightcrawler is a superb film, and critics agree with me, the film boasts a massive 95% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Of course, as one Jake Gyllenhaal movie exits, another must enter the streaming universe, and his new remake of an 80's cult classic is on Amazon Prime Video now.
Nightcrawler leaves Netflix (UK) on March 29th, while US readers can watch it on Starz.
