Snap Judgment: Creepy. Creepy, creepy, creepy, gross. I wanted to climb in the shower and wash away the slime afterwards.
Jake Gyllenhaal is a sociopath who finds his perfect line of work: being a nightcrawler - the cameraman who rushes to the scene of accidents and murders, to film the carnage for our viewing pleasure. Jake Gyllenhaal acts the hell out this thing and plays an antisocial slimeball really convincingly. Gyllenhaal's character comes across as an animal who has climbed into a human body. He doesn't interact or respond like a well-socialized person - he is an empty core who has filled himself with self-help jargon in an effort to mimic human behavior. It's eerie to watch someone who, instead of responding naturally, spews out the lines of a slick motivational speaker: My motto is if you want to win the lottery you've got to make money to get a ticket. The only time that he comes across as authentic is when he's threatening someone else. It is only then that the mask gets pulled off and you are able to witness the abyss beneath.
At one point, after being accused of not understanding people, he responds: What if my problem wasn't that I don't understand people but that I don't like them? I think it's both. He thinks he understands people, because he has worked out the basic mechanics. It's learning to play a score without ever feeling the music. Every interaction he has, you can see the gears shifting in his head - putting the behavioral cues into his algorithm to have it spit out a basic solution. But he can never truly understand people, because he lacks empathy.
Jake Gyllenhaal is a sociopath who finds his perfect line of work: being a nightcrawler - the cameraman who rushes to the scene of accidents and murders, to film the carnage for our viewing pleasure. Jake Gyllenhaal acts the hell out this thing and plays an antisocial slimeball really convincingly. Gyllenhaal's character comes across as an animal who has climbed into a human body. He doesn't interact or respond like a well-socialized person - he is an empty core who has filled himself with self-help jargon in an effort to mimic human behavior. It's eerie to watch someone who, instead of responding naturally, spews out the lines of a slick motivational speaker: My motto is if you want to win the lottery you've got to make money to get a ticket. The only time that he comes across as authentic is when he's threatening someone else. It is only then that the mask gets pulled off and you are able to witness the abyss beneath.
At one point, after being accused of not understanding people, he responds: What if my problem wasn't that I don't understand people but that I don't like them? I think it's both. He thinks he understands people, because he has worked out the basic mechanics. It's learning to play a score without ever feeling the music. Every interaction he has, you can see the gears shifting in his head - putting the behavioral cues into his algorithm to have it spit out a basic solution. But he can never truly understand people, because he lacks empathy.
This
movie is twisted and dark, and it doesn't let up. The director has no
interest in the typical Hollywood beats or the Hollywood ending. Be
prepared to feel a little gross afterwards.
Grade: B
Final
Verdict: Compelling performance from Jake Gyllenhaal of a truly
disgusting individual. It's a well-made film, but I can't say I enjoyed
watching it.
If You Like This, Watch: Funny Games, Reservoir Dogs, The Loft, Training Day, No Country for Old Men
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