Gyllenhaal delivers as repulsive antihero

WITH his pasty complexion, creepily obsequious behaviour and preference for scurrying around in dark, dirty corners of the city, Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) is the archetypal LA lowlife, a human cockroach and social outcast with no scruples who doesn't hesitate to offend (or worse) anyone in order to make a buck.

Bloom is the embodiment of a real creep and Nightcrawler is his story - one we are compelled to watch in much the same way that people are inclined to slow down and stare as they drive past the scene of an accident: We know it won't be pretty and we aren't particularly proud of ourselves for doing so, but we need visual confirmation anyway.

As it happens, ugly street accidents and their aftermath have an integral part in Nightcrawler, a debut feature by writer-director Dan Gilroy. The film is both a fascinating portrait of an immoral character who trawls the streets of Los Angeles in search of subject matter and a grimly satirical commentary on the state of society in the age of the 24-hour news cycle.