In 2014, a film came out that was widely praised, but not seen by that many people. In the decade since Nightcrawler first came out, the specifics of its story feel less applicable to the world we live in. That story, which is basically one about the endless hunger news stations have for violence and gore, feels less essential than it did in 2014. Local news is not as central to American life as it used to be, and the critiques of media today are much less about its unrepentant interest in violence. That critique might still be true, but it doesn’t feel as scathing as it might have in 2014.
Yet Nightcrawler‘s appeal is enduring even in spite of the plot specifics. That’s because, even as the story feels less relevant than it once did, the bigger themes that it gets at are as important as ever. Here are three major reasons why Nightcrawler has endured for the decade since it was first released, and why it’s still as irresistible to watch in 2024 as it was back in 2014.
The story and performances still resonate
The film, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a Los Angeles resident named Louis Bloom who gets by on thievery and scamming, follows Louis as he stumbles into a new career as a news cameraman. Soon, Louis discovers that the local news station is looking for the most salacious footage it can find, and eventually, he decides to cross a few lines in order to get that footage. To get high ratings is paramount; all other factors like decency, honor, and laws are irrelevant.
Even as the specifics of Nightcrawler resonate less than they once did, though, Nightcrawler as an object has not lost any of its potency. Part of that is because of Gyllenhaal’s central performance, which is almost undoubtedly the best of his career. He creates a protagonist so unlikable yet so endlessly watchable that you end up hating yourself for spending time with him. You become complicit in his immoral activities. If what he is doing is to get people to watch his content, then what does it say about the audience who can’t help but watch him?
Rene Russo and a then-unknown Riz Ahmed are just as good as Gyllenhaal’s cameraman and boss, respectively. Russo in particular turns in a seductive, desperate performance as Nina, the morning news director of a local TV station who needs to boost her sagging ratings. She needs him to cross lines she can’t, and isn’t shy about bending her own rules, as well as a few laws, to get what she wants.
It’s a story about the darkness of the American dream
Louis Bloom is the kind of antihero that was everywhere in the 2010s, but one of the things that makes his goals distinct is that he is, above all else, a hustler. He’s someone who believes that with hard work and dedication, he can make whatever his dreams might be a reality. At several points in the film, he espouses that theory pretty explicitly, trying to talk his way into a wide array of jobs:
“I’m a hard worker,” he says. “I set high goals, and I’ve been told that I’m persistent. Now, I’m not fooling myself, sir. Having been raised with the self esteem movement so popular in schools, I used to expect my needs to be considered. But I know that these days, our culture no long caters to the job loyalty that could be promised to earlier generations. What I believe, sir, is that good thinks come to those who work their asses off.”
Of course, Lou’s goal to become hugely successful is how he justifies every terrible thing he does in the film. When he films the suffering of others instead of getting help, or eventually commits crimes himself so that he can film them, it’s all with the goal of proving that he can be the kind of success he believes is possible for him.
He’s a hard worker, and good things come to those who work hard. Nightcrawler shows us a man who works hard and ultimately gets what he wants. Along the way, though, we come to understand everyone that he tramples on and tortures on his way to that goal. Local TV news may not be all that relevant any more, but the toxic nature of the dream we were all sold endures.
It’s about the ways that video can obscure the truth
One of Nightcrawler’s most trenchant observations is that video of a crime can obscure as much as it reveals. Even as we see every detail of a car crash or a murder that hasn’t even been reported to police yet, we don’t understand the context of how these things occurred, or how frequently these kinds of things happen more generally.
In the decade since Nightcrawler was released, it’s become even harder to trust what you’re seeing, even if you have video evidence. In an era when everything is available online, understanding what’s real is actually more difficult it was when there were only a couple of places you could get the news.
Killer clickbait
It’s not hard to imagine a 2024 version of Lou Bloom posting his videos, or ones that have been edited with AI or other means, all over the internet. His only goal is engagement, and he is far from alone. It turns out that there are Lou Blooms all over the internet, and their only goal is to feed the worst instincts of the people who consume their content.
There’s some truth to the fact that the violent videos in Nightcrawler are only so valuable because they’re what viewers ultimately want to see. What’s also true, though, is that the worst instincts of a viewing public are not necessarily the ones that should be catered to. The Lou Blooms of the world don’t care about anyone’s sense of morality, though. They are driven entirely by the bottom line. Content is king. Consequences be damned.
Nightcrawler is streaming on Starz.
