Nightcrawler

Off we went to Milton Keynes on Saturday to catch up on some much needed movie time. To start our two film Saturday afternoon we decided to see what 'Nightcrawler' had to offer.

'Nightcrawler' is an American action thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain, Donnie Darko, The Good Girl - we all know who I'm on about right!?) who plays the dark and devious Lou Bloom. Lou is a young determined criminal trying his best to land a legitimate job however he can. Following a night of thieving, Lou accidently stumbles across a car crash being filmed by a local amateur film crew. After hearing how much cash can be made in this line of work, he trades a recently stolen bicycle for a camcorder and police radio and decides to go on the hunt for a crime scene worthy of filming. A few botched attempts later, Lou captures some fairly graphic scenes and heads to the local TV station to see what his footage is worth. Here he meets Nina, the hard faced, quick talking news director played by Rene Russo (Lethal Weapon 3+4, Thor) who sees potential in him and encourages him to pursue a filming career. As Lou continues trying to find more and more shocking, graphically upsetting scenes in this intrusive line of work, things get darker and more dangerous leading to an explosive final scene.

Wow, what a film! Jake Gyllenhaal is fantastic in the role of Lou. It took me a while to get used to the extreme quirkiness of the character but once I got it, it was a thrill to watch. You won't finish this movie liking Lou but there is a touch of admiration for his hard working, never quitting, determined character. The rest of the cast are almost as interesting to watch especially Rene Russo as Nina. Such believable characters in this film are part of what holds it all together. The other part is the story itself. The tension is held for almost the entire film with the final scene grabbing 100% of my attention during the whole affair. Dazzling filming, brilliant acting and explosive scenes make it hard to fault this film. However, it did start off slow and the character of Lou was hard to get into and ultimately unlikable so there are points lost there. That being said, I highly recommend seeing this film.

8/10 for 'Nightcrawler' placing it at number 17 just below the equally awesome 'Lego Movie'.

'71

To complete our two-film Saturday, Mr B and I decided to see the British film '71. After hearing quite a bit about this film through other reviews, I thought I'd indulge my love of British filmmaking and convince Mr B to go see it.

'71 is a British action film set in Belfast around the time of the Belfast riots (unsurprisingly, 1971 to be precise). It stars Jack O'Connell (Starred Up, Skins) as the lead role of Gary Hook, a British soldier from Derbyshire, who gets separated from his unit during a riot on the streets of Belfast. As the night draws in, Hook needs to find his way back to his unit before being discovered by the deadly riot squads patrolling the streets of Belfast.

 

What can I say; this film has a lot going for it. For starters, the shaky cam filming during the high action parts works wonders for a film like this, with moments that made me feel so immersed in the action, I actually felt like I was in Belfast in 1971. I also learnt more than I wanted to know about the horrendous Belfast riots, which I had no idea about prior to seeing this movie. It's hard to believe that only 40 years ago the UK was in such a state. The movie is held together by five explosive scenes which enraptured me. However, the dialogue for me was limited to the point where I found myself a little bored at times. Having said that, O'Connell delivers the best performance of his career so far, besting his performance in 'Starred Up', which I would have initially thought impossible. Every film I see with Jack O'Connell in convinces me more and more that this guy is going to be huge one day. How he can hold your focus and how he conveys such angst with very few words is such an amazing thing to watch. His performance makes this good film great.

 

7/10 for '71 which places it around mid-table on My 2014 League Table. The film taught me a lot (mostly about how much I should look forward to the next film starring Jack O'Connell) but lacked enough dialogue to place it any higher in the league.