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    One-Man Tour de Force

    Jake Gyllenhaal is at his creepy best in Nightcrawler

    Alex Bentley
    Oct 31, 2014 | 12:00 am
    Jake Gyllenhaal is at his creepy best in Nightcrawler
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    With both of his parents, not to mention his sister, involved in filmmaking, Jake Gyllenhaal has every reason to live off his name and make easy, unremarkable movies. Instead, except for a couple of notable exceptions, Gyllenhaal has proven time and again that he’s willing to take on challenging roles in order to elevate both himself and the art form.

     

    He’s at it again in Nightcrawler, in which he gives a performance that should easily earn him a second Oscar nomination. He plays Lou Bloom, a man who’s just skating by on the lower end of society. That is, until he discovers the job of freelance videographer: People who troll police radio calls for car wrecks, fires or bloody crimes; film the gory results; and sell the video to local TV stations.

     

     

      Gyllenhaal’s performance in Nightcrawler should easily earn him a second Oscar nomination.

     
     

    Realizing he has a knack for that kind of thing, Lou quickly develops a bond with Nina Romina (Rene Russo), the news director for a low-rated station. But faced with competition from other videographers and an unceasing desire to become something more than he is, Lou soon starts resorting to underhanded means of getting the video he needs.

     

    There are a number of factors that contribute to the success of Nightcrawler, including the cinematography by Robert Elswit and the score by James Newton Howard. But if ever a film were a one-man show, it is this one, as Gyllenhaal makes the movie his own from minute one.

     

    Lou gains more and more confidence as the story goes along, and Gyllenhaal’s performance gets more and more intense. He speaks in a way that’s rushed yet somehow calm, using words — written by writer/director Dan Gilroy — obviously chosen to make Lou seem more educated than he actually is. There are times when Lou is obviously threatening the other person in the conversation, but Gyllenhaal’s voice rarely rises to a shouting level, which actually makes him more intimidating.

     

    Even more impressive is how likable Gyllenhaal makes Lou despite the number of increasingly unlikable things that he does. There is obviously something not quite right with Lou, but you always want things to go well for him, even as he gets closer and closer to truly going over the edge.

     

    Although there are a couple of other big names in the film, like Russo and Bill Paxton, neither of them can hold a candle to Gyllenhaal. In this respect, Gyllenhaal might actually be masking some of the movie’s underlying faults, but he’s so good that it’s hard to care about any mistakes.

     

    Some may attempt to parse Nightcrawler and its indictment of local TV news, but I’d rather bask in the greatness that is Gyllenhaal’s performance. Like 2013, this is turning into another stellar race for the Best Actor Oscar, and moviegoers are the clear winners.

    Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler.

    Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler
      
    Photo by Chuck Zlotnick
    Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler.
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    Movie Review

    Dark comedy Oh, Hi! takes relationship anxiety to the extreme

    Alex Bentley
    Jul 25, 2025 | 1:04 pm
    Logan Lerman and Molly Gordon in Oh, Hi!
    Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
    Logan Lerman and Molly Gordon in Oh, Hi!.

    Movies that depict new or burgeoning relationships tend to focus on the romantic side of things, as the prospect of love is intoxicating whether viewers are in their own relationship or not. Less often depicted is the awkwardness and confusion that can arise when getting to know someone new, something that is done to extreme effect in the new film Oh, Hi!.

    Iris (Molly Gordon) and Isaac (Logan Lerman), who’ve been dating for a few months, decide to take a weekend getaway to the country, which for them means a small town called High Falls, New York (a broken welcome sign has Iris mistakenly call it O High Falls). Having rented a farmhouse for the weekend, the new couple get strawberries from a roadside stand, enjoy the charming nature of the countryside, and, of course, have sex.

    The discovery of some S&M gear in the house inspires Iris and Isaac to get a little kinky. But some post-coital talk turns tense when Iris gushes about how happy she is to have a great boyfriend, and Isaac, still chained to the bed, tells Iris that he doesn’t consider them to be exclusive. This revelation breaks Iris to a degree, and instead of unchaining him, she uses his vulnerable position to try to convince him that they should be together.

    Written and directed by Sophie Brooks, the film is initially an interesting twist on the anxiety that can come with new relationships. Typically manifested in things like obsessing over what to wear or when to call/text someone back, Brooks and Gordon (who came up with the story together) instead decide to go all in on a woman acting “crazy” when confronted with information that doesn’t match her reality.

    Iris’ bad decision to keep Isaac chained to bed and obliviousness to the off-the-wall way she is acting are heightened for effect, although the feelings she’s experiencing remain relatable despite her actions. The conversations Iris and Isaac have, as well as the Google deep dives Iris does to try to discover ways to get Isaac to see the error of his ways, are light and funny despite the seriousness of the situation Iris has created.

    Brooks brings more characters into the story by having Iris call her best friend Max (Geraldine Viswanathan) for help, with Max deciding to bring along her boyfriend, Kenny (John Reynolds). Although their presence adds to the humor of the situation, it also distracts from the main point and leads into some territory that gets a bit too broad. If the story had remained just Iris and Isaac, it might have been able to dig a little deeper than it actually does.

    Gordon, who might be best known for playing Claire on The Bear, does a great job of playing all sides of Iris, from sassy to manic. Although what her character does isn’t defensible, Gordon keeps her likable throughout by never going too over the top. Lerman, a rising star in the early 2010s when he played Percy Jackson, settles nicely into a more adult role, and he too never overplays the absurd situation.

    There are no real insights in Oh, Hi!, but it’s a pleasant watch that accomplishes the goal of delivering a completely different type of romantic comedy. Unless viewers have had an experience with someone who acted anywhere close to Iris, they should be able to enjoy the movie thanks to the committed performances of Gordon and Lerman.

    ---

    Oh, Hi! is now playing in theaters.

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