......a lengthy thriller about a desperate scumbag. ne'er-do-well. ambitiously and amorally seizing a career as a free-lance video producer in contemporary Los Angeles.
The Link
I thought it was pretty interesting flic with decent acting and a very good original screenplay by director/writer Dan Gilroy.
Spoilers ahead!!!!!
It initially made me think of "Revenge of the Nerds" guys using police scanners meets
the crime and violence vibe of night time LA as shown in "Crash" and "Collateral" by way of, say, "Broadcast News."
But it got better.
Jake Gyllenhaal's skinny, creepy strangeness and progressive lack of morals. in this portrayal as scuzzball doucebag Lou Bloom, rivaled both Bradford Dillman and Dean Stockwell in "Compulsion." Robin Williams in "One Hour Photo," Robert Blake in "In Cold Blood," Robert DeNiro as Rupert Pupkin or Travis Bickle in "The King of Comedy" and "Taxi Driver" and even Anthony Perkins as in "Psycho."
This movie just ended before he went as full out crazy as did Norman Bates.
And he never made it as far as Ratso Rizzo did either.
On a southbound bus, Dustin Hoffman took him almost to Miami.
Lou Bloom's career also was not as spectacular as was DiCaprio's Jordan Belfort's in "The Wolf of Wall Street", but he did pretty well for being stuck in the seedy underbelly of the City of Angels,
Gyllenhaal as Bloom discovers his apparent calling by accident, and quickly learns the fast-paced film crew trade by hook and crook, speculatively capturing graphic documentation of crime, crashes, conflagrations, mayhem and death to serve the demand of TV news, gaining his journalistic edge for speed, immediacy and excellence by increasingly crossing any lines separating observer from participant.
He boasts of being a fast study, who's willing to do whatever it takes
So he first moves a victim at the scene of an auto accident to get benefit of better lighting, then he sabotages the van of a competitor, enters crime scenes before and after the police arrive, withholds video evidence and even manipulates crooks and cops to stage and record better action footage.
He gets away scot free,. so far and I don't expect a sequel.
But who knows?
Film followups have come from less.
I won't be surprised. however. at a best acting nomination for Jake Gyllenhaal or a best original screenplay nomination for Dan Gilroy come Academy Awards time.
Rene Russo was mostly wasted. IMHO: OK but only allowed to hint at her roles in "Tin Cup," etc.
She was cast true to her age and successfully portrayed being stuck at a dead end job at the lowest ranking TV station in town well.
So perhaps kudos are actually in order.
Lots of cursing and violence, so not for the weak of heart, but no actual sex is depicted.
Recommended for those moviegoers who dug any of the other movies that I mentioned.
Anybody have a comment?
The Link
I thought it was pretty interesting flic with decent acting and a very good original screenplay by director/writer Dan Gilroy.
Spoilers ahead!!!!!
It initially made me think of "Revenge of the Nerds" guys using police scanners meets
the crime and violence vibe of night time LA as shown in "Crash" and "Collateral" by way of, say, "Broadcast News."
But it got better.
Jake Gyllenhaal's skinny, creepy strangeness and progressive lack of morals. in this portrayal as scuzzball doucebag Lou Bloom, rivaled both Bradford Dillman and Dean Stockwell in "Compulsion." Robin Williams in "One Hour Photo," Robert Blake in "In Cold Blood," Robert DeNiro as Rupert Pupkin or Travis Bickle in "The King of Comedy" and "Taxi Driver" and even Anthony Perkins as in "Psycho."
This movie just ended before he went as full out crazy as did Norman Bates.
And he never made it as far as Ratso Rizzo did either.
On a southbound bus, Dustin Hoffman took him almost to Miami.
Lou Bloom's career also was not as spectacular as was DiCaprio's Jordan Belfort's in "The Wolf of Wall Street", but he did pretty well for being stuck in the seedy underbelly of the City of Angels,
Gyllenhaal as Bloom discovers his apparent calling by accident, and quickly learns the fast-paced film crew trade by hook and crook, speculatively capturing graphic documentation of crime, crashes, conflagrations, mayhem and death to serve the demand of TV news, gaining his journalistic edge for speed, immediacy and excellence by increasingly crossing any lines separating observer from participant.
He boasts of being a fast study, who's willing to do whatever it takes
So he first moves a victim at the scene of an auto accident to get benefit of better lighting, then he sabotages the van of a competitor, enters crime scenes before and after the police arrive, withholds video evidence and even manipulates crooks and cops to stage and record better action footage.
He gets away scot free,. so far and I don't expect a sequel.
But who knows?
Film followups have come from less.
I won't be surprised. however. at a best acting nomination for Jake Gyllenhaal or a best original screenplay nomination for Dan Gilroy come Academy Awards time.
Rene Russo was mostly wasted. IMHO: OK but only allowed to hint at her roles in "Tin Cup," etc.
She was cast true to her age and successfully portrayed being stuck at a dead end job at the lowest ranking TV station in town well.
So perhaps kudos are actually in order.
Lots of cursing and violence, so not for the weak of heart, but no actual sex is depicted.
Recommended for those moviegoers who dug any of the other movies that I mentioned.
Anybody have a comment?
