Nightcrawler

1. NIGHTCRAWLER
Nightcrawler is a 2014 thriller film written and directed by Dan Gilroy. The film
stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a thief who starts shooting live footage of accidents and
crimes in Los Angeles, selling the content to a local news channel as a stringer
while secretly sabotaging both crime scenes and other news reporters. It also
features Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed and Bill Paxton.

2. Camerawork
In the opening scene of this film, we are first shown the protagonist ‘Lou’ attempting to
break into a private sector of land. There is a close-up shot of the lock, which immediately
draws our attention and indicates its importance. This transitions into a tracking shot of
Lou’s hands on the lock. The camera then pans into a shot of a police car in the distance.
However, Lou is still in focus. This use of deep focus tells us that Lou is clearly the
protagonist in the narrative. The next shot is a crane shot. This establishes the
surroundings and distance between Lou and the police car – it serves as a master shot.

3. Mise en scene
It is evident by the costume of the character Lou, that this film is set in the late 80s.
Additionally, the dialogue between the policeman and Lou informs the audience that the film is
set in America. The pliers are a notable prop, as they give us a greater insight into Lou’s
character. Our initial reaction to this prop is that they are not being utilised for their intended
use. Additionally, low level lighting is used in order to create a dark atmosphere that suits this
act of breaking and entering.

4. Sound
Throughout the entirety of this opening scene, there is no non-diegetic music. This draws the
audiences’ attention directly to the action happening on-screen. We can hear the ambient sound of
cars and roadwork far in the background. This helps to set the scene, as it tells the audience that the
film is set in an industrial area. The synchronous sound of the police car and its alarm instantly
alert the viewer, whilst increasing the tension. Furthermore, we can tell that the protagonist is a
male before he even turns around. We know this because of his grunts and exhales when attempting
to open the locked fence.

5. Editing
In this clip, the only editing is the shiascuro lighting when the police car arrives. This lighting
highlights the bright colours of the police car (of which there are few) and deepens the dark colours
of Lou’s car. This creates a clear contrast between the two and leads us to believe that Lou is not in
the right. Dark symbolises bad intent – which is reinforced by the act of Lou breaking and entering.
Light contrarily symbolises goodness and purity; the policeman is on the right side of the law.

6. What did we learn?
We learnt that Lou is both a cunning and violent character. We also learnt that the film is not
set in the present day (due to costume giveaways), and Lou wants something inside the place
he is attempting to break in to. We also can infer that Lou is a ‘lone wold’ as he has no help to
break into his desired location.

7. What could we ask?
The audience may have multiple questions:
• Why is Lou breaking into this place?
• What is this place that Lou is breaking into?
• How long has Lou been planning this break
in?
• Who is Lou?