Nightcrawler – 7

Considering this film took place at night, in stressful situations, featuring many working stiffs, in a very noir setting, it was remarkable that no one smoked. Maybe, then, it was no coincidence that at the very end of the credits, where they usually disclaim hurting any animals during filming, there was a line that no money was received for placing tobacco in the film. Is this a new cause? Or are they saying that no one smoked because no one offered them any money?
Jake Gyllenhaal’s bug eyes and intense characterization were wonderful, although you wondered why someone with his ambition and instincts was only clipping chain-link fences when the story began. The cheap swipe at TV news was fun, even if there was only a kernel of truth in it; what drove the movie was Gyllenhaal’s depiction of Louis Bloom’s flowering, petal by petal, picking up something from every contact, morality be damned, and getting away with it.