Lou Bloom, played excellently by a physically unrecognizable
Jake Gyllenhaal in what could be one of his career defining performances, is a
creepy, hollow-faced personification of the cut-throat corporate environment
that exists all around us today.
Lou is a self-groomed crime newsfeed recorder who will do
anything for his ambition of seeing his organization climb up the success
ladder even if it means doing something illegal or immoral like dragging the
body of a car crash victim ten feet to the right where the lighting is
sufficient to get that perfect shot of a road mishap before the police arrive
on scene.
I thought the dialogues between Lou and his ‘intern’ came eerily
close to what an average employee might get to hear during routine HR and Business
meetings at the office, so much so that I couldn’t stop smiling like an idiot
while watching. I tell you, how easy it is to manipulate people into doing
things they aren't even going to get paid for just by throwing words at their
faces.
Apart from that, the direction is first grade and the camera
work reveals a bleaker and a visibly more dangerous side of night-life in the
city, including old-school chase sequences that are executed well enough to
feel real and pressing.
With Keaton’s performance in Birdman being nominated for the
Oscar, I doubt whether Gyllenhaal would have bagged the award for best actor
had he not been snubbed (so unjustifiably). But had he gotten it, I wouldn't
have minded the upset at Keaton losing.
Recommended watch.
The new benchmark for ‘creepy’ has now been established.
