76
Metascore
45 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100HitfixDrew McWeenyHitfixDrew McWeenyThe film plays with tension beautifully, and there are a few set pieces that I think are all-timers.
- 100Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfGilroy, vastly supported by cinematographer and Los Angeles specialist Robert Elswit (Boogie Nights, Magnolia), directs with the verve of a seasoned pro, even though Nightcrawler is his debut.
- 95Film.comJordan HoffmanFilm.comJordan HoffmanA fantastic, sleek and fun satire.
- 91The PlaylistRodrigo PerezThe PlaylistRodrigo PerezThere’s tremendous social and moral texture throughout the drama, but the socio-economic commentary of the movie is fabric, not heavy handed accessory. And the provocative ethical breaches—savage and scathing in the latter half—give the movie its delectable and wicked bite.
- 80The GuardianHenry BarnesThe GuardianHenry BarnesFrom a subdued start Nightcrawler unfurls into a ghoulish and wickedly funny satire on journalism, the job market and self-help culture.
- 80Total FilmJamie GrahamTotal FilmJamie GrahamGyllenhaal is sensational headlining a pitch-black satire with its finger on the pulse.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerThe Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerLike his erratic protagonist, Gilroy doesn’t always know when to settle down or call it quits, and the film’s constant shifts of tone can grow tiring, even if the action as a whole never gets boring.
- 70The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe New YorkerAnthony LaneNightcrawler has patches of clunkiness, to be sure, and Lou’s face-off at a police station, near the end, feels graceless and unnecessary. Yet the movie is quite something, and, despite its title, it doesn’t really crawl.
- 60The TelegraphTim RobeyThe TelegraphTim RobeyThe film’s a satirical thriller, which is a novel enough entity in itself these days; it has a pungent, can’t-miss-the-point premise, and a big, weird, sharkish performance from Jake Gyllenhaal powering it up. It’s a must-see and a must-talk-about film, electrically overblown in the moment, if not wholly in control of its pay-off.
- 50VarietyScott FoundasVarietyScott FoundasTouches of apocalyptic comedy run throughout Nightcrawler, but the movie’s overriding tone is one of strident, finger-wagging self-seriousness.