Donnie Darko

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed!

Donnie Darko (2001) has the theme of sacrifice to save others, but the demonic rabbit costume in this cult favorite has become iconic, so the movie also has an anti-Easter feel to it, too.

The film starts ominously in a dark outdoor setting with thunder in the background. The name of Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) fits the setting. He has been lying on a mountain road in his pajamas next to his bicycle. It’s an odd place to have bedded down for the night. He appears to be waking up from a strange dream. His smile seems to contrast with the threatening situation, which points to the opposing forces in the film.

The contrasts continue as what follows is a sunny day with the title of the film then shown, the character’s name offset by the brightness of the image. Donnie rides his bike past a sign announcing a Halloween event, a fitting notice for this spooky tale. The soundtrack song is sung by Echo and the Bunnymen. Rabbits are important to this story, and give a decidedly anti sweet, Easter feel to the tale. Here a rabbit may suggest the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland and the idea of going down the nightmarish rabbit hole. (In Celtic folklore, there is the character of a pooka, a kind of ghost, that sometimes manifests itself as a hare, and can bring about good or bad occurrences, which fits in with the contrasting theme of the film). If you want to see all the times that a rabbit appears, go to IMDb.

On a supposedly proper suburban lawn Donnie’s father, Eddie Darko (Holmes Osbourne) uses a leaf blower, but abruptly points it jokingly at his teenage daughter, Elizabeth (Maggie Gyllenhaal) as she strolls by. The phallic-shaped tool adds a twisted incestual suggestion to the scene, sort of like the garden hose at the beginning of Blue Velvet, implying something dark below the tranquil suburban setting. Donnie’s mother, Rose (Mary McDonnell) is outside at the back of the house reading the Stephen King book It, another creepy image undermining the possibility of safety. (IMDb notes that this novel’s nemesis is dressed like a clown, and much later there is a clown in Frank’s car that is dressed likewise. It adds to the Halloween motif). Donnie walks past his mother weirdly not saying a word considering a note is written on a piece of paper on the refrigerator which says, “Where is Donnie?” (Who would post such a message about a missing family member this way? It adds to the surreal nature of the movie).

At the dinner table Donnie is sarcastic and combative with his sister, Elizabeth, who reveals that Donnie has not been taking his medication. We discover he has a history of schizophrenia accompanied by violence and is prone to sleepwalking, which explains why he woke up on a country road. After dinner, Rose confronts her son about where he goes off at night. He is very hostile telling her to get out of his room, and he calls her a “bitch.” She says she doesn’t recognize him anymore, and that may exhort him to later take some of his medication.

Later in the night we hear a distorted, deep voice telling Donnie to wake up. Donnie sleepwalks again, following the voice to the hedges at the back of the house. He sees the image of a man wearing a grotesque rabbit costume with long upright ears. The rabbit, who is called Frank (James Duval), says he has been watching Donnie and announces, “twenty-eight days, six hours, forty-two minutes, twelve seconds … That is when the world will end.” Donnie took his meds. Is he seeing clearly, and this apocalyptic vision is real, or is his mental illness defying treatment?

The night scene cuts to a TV displaying static in front of the sleeping Eddie, an image representing a lack of communication and comprehension (and possibly a reference to the TV in the ghostly film Poltergeist). Elizabeth comes in the door and immediately thereafter the house shakes as a loud noise sounds. Eddie awakes and runs in slow motion adding to the unreal happening. The film abruptly shifts to the daytime and Donnie is asleep on a golf course, another contrasting image of oddness appearing amid suburban tranquility. That same unnerving jolt out of the ordinary occurs when Donnie gets home and finds a jet engine being hoisted off his house. His family is outside and his younger sister, Samantha (Daveigh Chase) tells Donnie that the large piece of debris fell in his room. If it wasn’t for his sleepwalking, his dive into the surreal, his real world would have ended, but in a bizarre way. Elizabeth tells Donnie about the airplane engine, “They don’t know where it came from.” Now that’s very weird, because there is usually a plane around when one of its engines gets detached.

The FAA arranges for the Darko family to stay at a hotel. Eddie remembers about a young man who died on his way to his high school prom, and says people said the boy was “doomed.” Eddie wonders if that could be Donnie’s case. But his son escaped his fate. Or did he?

Back at school Donnie is sort of famous for escaping death. Teacher Karen Pomeroy (Drew Barrymore) is the defiant teacher who worries about losing children to “apathy,” and the principal later fires her for her counter-culture ways. Here she discusses “The Destructors” by Graham Greene. (October 2 is the day on which Frank tells Donny the world will end. That is Greene’s birthday, according to IMDb. It is thus fitting that the man who wrote about destruction is tied to demise here. In the fiction piece, children break into a house not to steal money but to burn it. Donnie comments that it is an act of rebellion to change things. His comments fit with his antisocial, hostile attitude toward the world as it is.

Another strange incident occurs when Eddie drives Donnie to his therapist, Dr. Lillian Thurman (Katherine Ross). A disheveled old lady with fly-away gray hair stops in the middle of the road and checks her mailbox, which she does every day, and there is never any mail. It’s sort of like a Waiting for Godot scenario, where meaningless action perpetuates. Her name is Roberta Sparrow (Patience Cleveland), also known as Grandma Death. Her appearance fits that nickname. When Donnie gets out of the car to see what’s going on, she whispers something to him, which Donnie does not divulge at this time. We later learn that she pessimistically stresses how every living creature dies alone. Since dire events center around Donnie, it makes sense that a reaper-like person should be contacting him.

Donnie tells Thurman that his new imaginary friend, Frank (the guy in the weird rabbit costume), told Donnie to follow him “into the future.” Donnie says that Frank telling him that the world would end soon was “stupid.” Yet, he calls Frank a “friend,” which sounds as if he is conflicted about Frank’s presence.

In a class, the health teacher, Kitty Farmer, an uptight person, doesn’t teach but plays videos featuring Jim Cunningham (Patrick Swayze) which focus on overcoming fear. There is an atmosphere of foreboding in this film right from the opening scene, followed by Donnie’s personality, the scary rabbit, and the airplane engine accident. (By the way, the movie Harvey deals with James Stewart’s character talking to a human-sized rabbit that is invisible to everyone else. This film is a dark version of that scenario).

Spooky Frank wakes up Donnie again and Donnie appears to be sleepwalking (sleepwalking is a kind of twilight area between waking and sleeping). This time he is carrying an axe. Later, the school’s mascot, which is represented by a large statue of a bulldog, has the axe buried in its head. And the words. “They made me do it,” are written in paint on the sidewalk. Since Donnie committed the vandalism, his free will seems to merge with the dictates of the supernatural that charts the destiny for everyone. However, his words also sound like what a schizophrenic would say. The danger surrounding his personality permeates the movie. He also uses the axe to flood the school by breaking a water main. Donnie fits in with the Greene short story since he is a destructor forcing change to occur.

Donnie gets to know the new girl at the school, Gretchen Ross (Jenna Malone). Since she has just arrived, she is an outsider, like Donnie. Her past adds to her lack of normalcy. Her father is at-large for having stabbed her mother and she and her mother changed their names and are in hiding. Donnie says he was once in jail for accidentally burning down a house, which shows his antisocial past, and a foreshadowing (there is a fire in the Greene short story, remember). She comments that his name sounds like a comic book hero. He responds by saying, “What makes you think I’m not?” He is being funny, but the dialogue adds to the unreal nature of the story, and points to Donnie maybe having special abilities. (If you have watched “the Big Bang Theory,” you know the talk about how comic book characters have alliterative names: Peter Parker, Bruce Banner, Clark Kent, etc. As IMDb points out there are many alliterative names in the film and references to comics, which contribute to the film’s imaginary worldly nature). Donnie shows his intelligence by helping her with an assignment. She comments that he is “weird,” and Donnie has heard this before and feels he is being dismissed; but, she tells him it was a compliment. This story inverts what most consider to be positive and negative. He says that if the school hadn’t closed their moment together here would not have happened. His comment suggests the idea of various timelines. The two quickly decide to be a couple since they are compatible in their nonconformity.

In another session with Dr. Thurman, Donnie repeats how he looks in many of his scenes. His head is bent forward and he looks up, unblinking. Jake Gyllenhaal said, according to IMDb, that he used this look to appear more psychotic. Thurman hypnotizes him, but even his subconscious is rebellious as he refuses to answer her questions, dwells on sexual topics, and is about to masturbate when she terminates the session.

At a PTA meeting, Kitty Farmer rants about the teaching of “The Destructors” because the young people in that book break a water main and flood a house. Since the police suspect that students may have been involved with the vandalism that included flooding the school, Kitty is connecting the dots. Teacher Karen Pomeroy defends her selection by saying the story is “ironic,” suggesting the tale is not a “how to” act piece. Rose questions if Kitty even knows who Graham Greene is, and Kitty reveals her ignorance by citing the TV show “Bonanza,” whose star was Lorne Greene. While the PTA meeting takes place, Frank again visits Donnie, telling the youth he got away with his axe-wielding actions. Donnie continues to take his medication which implies Frank’s appearance is real. Frank says he can do anything, and so can Donnie. The will of the one merges with that of the other. When Donnie asks where Frank came from, the crazy rabbit asks Donnie if he believes in “time travel,” which becomes what the movie revolves around.

Kitty is again teaching her class based on Cunningham’s videos. Donnie has a card that notes a hypothetical character finding a wallet. He is supposed to fit her actions onto the evaluation line that stretches between fear and love. Donnie complains how the whole exercise is meaningless because everything cannot be reduced to these two emotions. Later, in the principal’s office, where we learn Donnie’s test scores show him to be brilliant, Kitty reveals that Donnie, basically, told her to shove her exercise card up her ass. Donnie continues to be the defier of social convention.

Donnie asks science teacher Mr. Monnitoff (Noah Wylie) about time travel. He talks about wormholes, and then gives Donnie a book entitled The Philosophy of Time Travel, which was written by Roberta Sparrow, the strange mailbox lady, who once was a nun, and then a schoolteacher where Donnie attends. Her character is a merging of science and spirituality. Donnie relates to Thurman that Frank mentioned time travel and now he finds out about Roberta, so he concludes the linking of the two is not a coincidence. Donnie takes the “alone” part of the message Roberta whispered to him as meaning that it is absurd, given life’s inevitable solitude in death, to search for the existence of God, and thus, the general meaning of life.

Donnie is waking up from a nap in a chair in his house while his father and pals watch a football game. Donnie seems to be between the awake world and the sleep world most of this movie, and just like Edward Norton’s character in Fight Club, it’s difficult to tell whether or not he is in a dream state. He sees fluid-filled tubes coming out of Eddie’s chest, and also out of Elizabeth and himself. They point to where a person is going. In a way they are predictors. IMDb notes that director/ writer Richard Kelly got this idea from watching John Madden make illustrations of where players will go in a play. So, it’s appropriate that Donnie sees this effect while a football game is playing. Donnie follows his tube and it takes him to his father’s closet where he finds a handgun. As Anton Chekhov said, once you introduce a gun the writer better fire it later.

Donnie would like to kiss Gretchen since they have been going out for two weeks, but she wants it to be at a time that the world shows its beauty. She coincidentally mentions time travel now, stating her wish to be able to go back and replace troubling images with lovely ones. Even though they are in a beautiful park there is a “fat guy” as she puts it, watching them while smoking a cigarette. In this place, it is difficult to maintain the beauty Gretchen seeks. Donnie does not share Gretchen’s hope for that wonderful moment. The next scene is that of Dr. Thurman telling Donnie’s parents that their son is becoming more detached from reality because he finds life increasingly “threatening.” She recommends more therapy and medication for his schizophrenia. This scene is intercut with shots of Donnie using a knife to stab at Frank’s eye across an invisible force field that he seems to be penetrating. Is he trying to destroy his hallucination? Or, is he trying to cut across the barrier between the world we know and the one beyond?

Jim Cunningham presents his personal growth spiel to the high school students. He talks about a struggling individual named “Frank.” Could this reference point to Donnie’s own struggle? Cunningham says that fear is intertwined with premarital sex, smoking, and drinking alcohol. IMDb notes Donnie engages in all three in the movie, showing that he defies the restrictions on these temptations. Donnie gets to the microphone and admits to feeling lost and afraid (probably because of his loneliness), but he says Cunningham is “the antichrist,” a guy who is profiteering on the anguish of others, and not offering any real solutions.

Donnie tells Gretchen that what he has been seeing is described in Roberta Sparrow’s book, so he says what is happening to him is not random. He discusses his theory with Mr. Monnitoff that these tube-like projections show one’s destiny, and that are a way of seeing the predetermined future. The teacher says if someone could see his or her destiny, a person could then change it, negating predetermination. But Donnie sees, or wants to see that we are not alone, and that the future paths can’t be altered by individuals since they are part of God’s cosmic plan. Monnitoff wants to stick to science and not religious matters, implying he could lose his job if it appears that he is influencing a child’s faith.

Donnie now finds Cunningham’s wallet and knows where he lives. So, he is in the position of how to act that duplicated the exercise in Kitty’s class that was based on Cunningham’s teachings. Gretchen and Donnie do a presentation to the science class with illustrations about getting parents to put these glasses on their kids when they sleep. They call them IMG’s which are infant memory generators. Gretchen argues that pleasant images will be shown to instill positive memories in the children. Two guys say the nightmare of this dream proposal could occur if parents might show satanic visions, and they mention Gretchen’s violent father. It’s as if Gretchen wants to create a parental experience that would counter her own life events. Gretchen runs out of the school and Donnie follows her, apologizing for the boys’ statements. She then kisses him, maybe because she is realizing she shouldn’t wait any longer for a perfect moment to happen, since it probably never will.

Again, keeping with the Halloween holiday, Donnie and Gretchen go to the movies to see a horror film, The Evil Dead. But that movie is shown in conjunction with The Last Temptation of Christ. It is a foreshadowing since that movie deals with sacrifice to save others. Gretchen falls asleep. It appears Donnie may be nodding off also, and then Frank appears. Dream or reality? Donnie asks Frank, “Why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit?” To which, Franks says, “Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?” What is really below the surface? Is it man or beast? The lighter and darker sides of reality join here as Frank takes off his headpiece and reveals the eye injury that Danny inflicted upon him. Frank apologizes because he knows what’s coming. A portal opens and Cunningham’s house appears. Frank tells Donnie to burn it down.

Even the dance presentations of children for a Star Search competition show contrasting images. One girl awkwardly dances to an angelic soundtrack and then the performance of the young girls called Sparkle Motion (which includes Samantha Darko) is more rock and roll. Cunningham hosts the event, which we find adds a creepy element. The fire reveals a secret room, a “kiddie porn dungeon” in the house. The police arrest Cunningham. The fire, a destructive act, brings to light a horrible crime. The scene reminds us of the opposing movie titles on the marquee and suggests that there must be sacrifice to set things right. It also reflects what Donnie said about how the Greene story shows that “destruction” is a form of “creation.”

Kitty is not willing to see the facts and remains loyal to Cunningham (does his name show he is a cunning fellow, fooling others, another example of false appearances?), thinks there is a conspiracy to frame her beloved idol (the film showing relevance to current events). She will work to defend Cunningham, and, despite Rose’s animosity toward her, she asks the other woman to fly with Sparkle Motion for a competition. This request brings up the airplane aspect of the story.

Rose sees a calendar with an illustration of the scary bunny on it. The days are crossed off, which we know is the countdown to Frank’s “end of the world” prediction. Rose is concerned about Donnie and wants him to be okay. He asks what it’s like to have a “wacko” for a son. She says it feels “wonderful.” Her allegiance reminds us of how Gretchen feels about Donnie’s questioning mind.

In a session with Thurman, the hypnotized Donnie confesses to his crimes and says he must do what Frank says so he can figure out what is happening. He sees Frank (again as he crosses into dreamland) looking upward. Donnie says he must build a time machine. He says, “the sky’s gonna open up.” Here is another reference to the airplane and its missing engine.

There is one day left until Frank’s predicted day of death. Eddie is away on business and Rose is with Sparkle Motion. Donnie and Elizabeth decide to throw a Halloween party with their parents gone. Everyone is wearing a costume except Donnie, whose “man suit” is a costume hiding his nightmarish self. Gretchen arrives distraught because her mother took off. She says, “I guess some people are born with tragedy in their blood.” Obviously, she is a perfect match for Donnie. They make love while Rose does not receive Dr. Thurman’s phone warning about Donnie since the mother is away. There is also a call from Rose saying that she and the girls will be returning on a late flight. Later, Donnie has on a skeleton outfit, which shows the tragedy intertwined with his life.

Donnie sees those fluid tunnels again, which point to what will happen, and he knows that time is running out since it is one hour to Frank’s deadline. He and Gretchen go to Grandma Death’s place. He knows that time travel connects Grandma Death to Frank. Karen Pomeroy wrote on the board before leaving the school the words “cellar door,” which someone said were the best combination of words in English. There is a cellar door at the house. We are going below the surface again to reveal what hides in the shadows. The school bullies are there, with stockings over their faces trying to hide the nastiness underneath. They drag Donnie and Gretchen outside. One puts a knife to Donnie’s throat and Donnie utters, “Deus ex machina.” In Greek theater, the gods were supposed to reside above the stage and when the playwright wanted to resolve conflicts the “god” would be lowered in a box to dispense supernatural abilities. It has come to be a negative term to show resolution by contrived means. Here the film is playing with the idea, since time travel is the story’s “deus ex machina,” and that is why Donnie calls it the “savior,” which also recalls “Christ” mentioned in the film title on the marquee.

A car approaches at a high speed. Grandma Death is in the road, presiding over the events. Gretchen is thrown into the road and the car strikes and kills her. The car stops and turns around. The driver is Frank. He is wearing the scary bunny outfit. He takes his headpiece off. Donnie has his dad’s gun and shoots and kills Frank. Again, the site of the wound is the eye, a frequent symbol in films (Blade Runner, Chinatown, Bonnie and Clyde). Here, it can refer to the terrible visions that Donnie has been seeing. It’s as if the dead Frank came back through time to inform Donnie of the horrors that would occur.

Donnie takes Gretchen’s body with him to his house and kisses his sister goodbye. Donnie envisions dark clouds forming a time tunnel in the sky. He drives to where the film began on a hillside road. We hear Monnitoff’s words about all you need for time travel is a wormhole and a metal craft entering it. Donnie also remembers Gretchen saying that it would be nice to go back in time to make things better. The plane that Rose is on hits the turbulence of the time tunnel, and we see the engine going into the tunnel. Donnie also goes into the tunnel. He comes out laughing in his bed. He is not out of the house as before when the engine hits. He is killed this time.

Donnie wrote a letter to Grandma Death, saying that he hopes the answers to his questions “will come to me in my sleep. I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to.” He does get his information while asleep, and it is his world that comes to an end. Perhaps he is now at peace, and he may feel that he will survive in some spiritual form, and that those alive will lead good lives.

The camera glides over all the characters in the story, as the song “Mad World plays with the fitting lyric, “The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I ever had.” Those words could fit what happens to Donnie. Gretchen, who in this corrected timeline didn’t meet Donnie, is alive. She rides by on her bike, and exchanges a sad look with Rose, and a wave. It was a worthy sacrifice.

The next film is Lost in Translation.

Nightcrawler

SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

In this 2014 film, written and directed by Dan Gilroy, there are mostly night shots, befitting the title of Nightcrawler. In the role of Louis Bloom, Jake Gyllenhaal has an unblinking, staring face that has the look of a sleepwalker who can lull a victim to join him in his restful state before striking. As IMDb notes, the actor lost weight, and with hair slicked back and a protruding jawline, he wanted to give the appearance of “a hungry coyote.” As a “stringer, or “nightcrawler” Lou is a predator who becomes a photojournalist and goes around at night to feed off of people’s stories, like the worm of the title, in a story that exposes the dark, seedy side of those exploiting mass media.

The first shot is of a blank billboard, implying we can write anything on it, and that is what some news services do. Instead of reporting, these freelance, uncredentialed journalists transform the news into sensationalism, and in the case of Lou, for selfish reasons through criminal acts. The first sound after the credits is that of a blaring train horn, as if to signal an alarm about what is happening in this tale set in Los Angeles. As is demonstrated when we first see him, Lou has no principles from the start, and through becoming a “nightcrawler” finds a way of using his sociopathic ways to earn a living, capitalism being a sort of perverted equal opportunity enabler (his last name implies that he “blooms’ after finding a way to empower his malevolence). Lou is committing a criminal act, breaking through a restricted area’s fence. He puts on a disarming smile to act like he is nonthreatening, but it is a ruse. He tells property’s security guard (Michael Papajohn) he just became lost and that there were no signs that he was not supposed to enter. He tries to get away with lies through his polite, seemingly benign manner. The guard tells him there are, in fact, warning signs posted everywhere. Lou lies again when he says the gate, which he broke through, was open. He assesses the situation, noting that the man’s uniform shows that he is a private guard. Thus, Lou knows that he is not getting involved with the police, whose threat to him would be more problematic. He also sees that the guard is wearing a nice watch. Lou gets close to the man and overpowers him.

The next shot is of Lou’s wrist, revealing that he is wearing the watch. As he drives, he notices expensive cars in a display window, showing his obvious desire to obtain expensive things. On the radio there is talk about unemployment, which implies that the lack of any income for some people can fuel criminal activity to obtain goods. Lou goes to a scrapyard trying to sell the copper, manhole covers and fencing he stole from the site. The owner (Marco Rodriguez) lowballs him because he knows Lou is a thief, since the police had been around asking about stolen manhole covers. Lou talks in this artificially formal way, in a way tipping off his phoniness. He makes an elaborately worded pitch to get a job at the scrapyard, finishing with, “My motto is if you want to win the lottery, you’ve got to make money to buy a ticket.” He sounds as if he’s reading cliched slogans from a book on how to be successful. The owner, however, isn’t buying the pitch, and says no. He says why should he hire a crook, so he is not taken in by this sleazy huckster. But, he is corrupt enough to buy stolen merchandise from Lou at a low price, which illustrates that Lou is in a sordid society that allows him to flourish.

Lou stops near a car accident where a vehicle is on fire. The police are already there and fire engines are on the way. Joe Loder (Bill Paxton) pulls up with his van and yells at his assistant to record video shots inside the flaming car. These opportunistic photojournalists swarm onto the scene, excited by the fact that they are there first to get the scoop. They exploit the misery of others by selling their footage to news outlets who encourage this parasitic activity so they can air the recordings to cater to the voyeuristic tendencies of their audience, which then boosts TV station’s ratings. Their equipment is sophisticated, but the scene is a reminder that private people shoot scary scenes every day with their phone cameras, sometimes while they are driving, compounding the danger of the moment.

Lou asks Loder if the footage will be broadcast on television, and Loder says, “If it bleeds, it leads,” guaranteeing it will be shown in the morning. When asked which channel, Loder says whichever one pays the most, although given the fact that they run around so much, he says not enough. They use a police scanner to find out where to go next. The movie suggests that by turning news reporting into a mercenary act instead of an admirable job with a duty to inform the public of pertinent facts, journalism becomes a business of low ethical standards. Lou is impressed with all of the expensive equipment, since we have already seen how he is drawn to pricey merchandise. So, he asks for a job. Even though turned down he again appears phony by being overly polite in his thanks for the information about Loder’s work.

The next day in the background there is continuous broadcasting of radio and TV news along with commercials, stressing the association of information with money. There are helicopters circling above, surveying what’s going on below, pointing out how modern society is under constant surveillance, and the actions of its members can easily be recorded. Lou, watching his TV, hears about a huge payoff for that lottery he talked about, and he lets out a thrilled laugh just contemplating the hope of striking it rich. The TV presents an inundation of stories, suggesting how viewers are drowned in images and sounds. Lou sees the footage of the car crash at six in the morning of the day following the event, confirming Loder’s assurance of what type of story is guaranteed to be aired.

Lou sits in Venice Beach, again looking dormant before he commits his crime, as a bike rider parks his upscale bicycle. The next shot is of Lou with the bike, which he has obviously stolen, trying to get some cash for it at a pawn shop. He sounds like one of the commercials he probably has grown up hearing all his life. He lies about having won an international race with the bike, but the owner of the pawn shop (Jonny Coyne), like the scrapyard boss, has heard these pitches before. He tells Lou that no bike has as many gears as Lou boasts about, showing how the owner also knows the goods don’t belong to Lou. But, he also is not above buying the stolen item at a low price. Lou is okay with getting less money, but makes the deal only if he can get a camcorder and a police scanner.

Lou listens to the scanner and starts to show up at places involving police activity. He is intrusive with his presence as he shoots his video, and gets warnings about obstruction of justice from the cops. At one spot, there is a shooting victim in critical condition following a carjacking. There is already someone there recording it. Again, Lou is too aggressive, and causes the police to tell both Lou and the other nightcrawler to back off. The man from Ace Video (Eric Lange) yells at Lou because he ruined the shoot. Lou overhears him call in the story to a news outlet and negotiate a price for the recording, which points Lou to a place to sell his work.

Lou goes to the news station the cameraman mentioned, Channel 6. He has his camera and acts like he is a regular with video footage, showing how appearances can be deceiving. He is directed to Nina Romina (Rene Russo), and boldly tells her he has some footage for sale. She asks if he is a “stringer,” and wants to know who he works for, because they usually get the video from sources that they have relied on in the past. Lou says he works for himself and has closer shots than what Ace Video got at the carjacking. She calls in Frank Kruse (Kevin Rahm) who is the assignment editor, and they look at the footage.

Because Lou’s video shows more gory detail, Nina is impressed, coming off like a news vampire. Frank says the blood is excessive and people will be eating breakfast. She says after breakfast they will be talking about what they saw at breakfast while at work, and adds that the local station should have more of this kind of news. The movie implies that the exploitative news “disease” is spreading. Lou, always starting with an exorbitant price, asks for a grand for the video. She, however, knows he has no time to sell elsewhere and she points out that the quality of the video is lousy. She gets him to settle for $250. The story is saying that the misery of people is for sale, to be haggled over, like at a flea market. The profession becomes devoid of empathy in the coldness of the business transaction.

Nina tells Lou he has a good eye and wants him to contact the station first for what he has to sell, but advises him that he needs better equipment. He is once more verbose in thanking her for the encouragement. He asks if she wants “bloody” footage, but she adds not just blood, that they want to report crimes, too. But then she adds a bigoted note by saying they don’t want all criminal acts, as a carjacking in Compton, an African American community, is not interesting, implying that lawbreaking among black people is commonplace, and the plight of people living there is of little interest. She flat out says that her viewers “are more interested in urban crime creeping into the suburbs. What that means is a victim or victims, preferably well-off and/or white, injured at the hands of the poor, or a minority.” So, she is trading on the fear of the privileged as they worry about the lower classes taking away their safety and wealth. This type of journalism encourages stereotyping, but even worse, fosters animosity between citizens. She says she wants “graphic” news, not just a person passively bleeding. She says picture “a screaming woman running down the street with her throat cut.” That image catches the “spirit” of what they want to air, the use of the elevated word “spirit” being inappropriate considering the depravity of what she is asking for.

Lou later sees what he sold on the air. The local station’s ad says it’s a news outlet. “you can count on,” but what is it that can be counted on? Is it gruesome exploitation? Lou now listens to the scanner to identify the codes that indicate the type of police activity in progress. Lou, acting like he is an established newsman, interviews Rick (Riz Ahmed) and finds out that Rick is an unskilled, marginally employed, desperate person who jumps from job to job, and who has been homeless. Rick says, “I need a job. I’ll do just about anything.” Lou is not looking for some high-minded person who can afford to choose his jobs based on moral grounds. All he requires is that Rick learn the codes on the scanner, and have a cell phone with GPS so he can navigate Lou to Nina’s “graphic” scenes that he hears on the scanner. Lou wants someone who will feel grateful that he is getting paid, even if it is for a despicable purpose. Lou is always bargaining, and tries to get Rick to be an unpaid intern, but eventually is willing to give him thirty dollars a night.

After getting to one scene too late because Rick didn’t give him directions quick enough to beat out Loder, Lou stresses the need for communication between them. So, he is willing, at first, to be less vocally bullying of Rick. In relation to the work they are doing, Lou tells Rick that “fear” stands for “False Information Appearing Real,” which is an excellent description of what unscrupulous journalists hope to create to manipulate the population.

The two go to a site where there was a shooting, but Lou is told “it’s over.” That statement causes him to decide to insert himself more into the events themselves. Lou illegally goes inside the victim’s house and films personal photos and mail which provide images, names and other private information. Frank says the footage does not show Lou being invited in or talking with the people living in the house, so it appears Lou is breaking the law by trespassing. Nina loves the invasion of privacy, probably because it ramps up the emotional involvement on the part of the viewer. Afterwards, Lou compliments Nina, again not speaking naturally, like he is delivering a speech, on how she handled Frank. She, commenting on his verbal delivery, asks him how he learned his speaking style, but he admits it is not from school. He reveals that he is online all day, which reflects an education weaned on inauthentic posturing to brand, influence, and sell. He tells her that he took a business course online about how a person should have a plan, find out what one wants to do, and assess one’s own strengths and weaknesses. He said he now thinks that TV news is what he loves, and what he is good at. Given the depravity of his personality, that doesn’t say much for the standards of the TV industry. He then looks at the large photo backdrop of the city on the set at the station and says, “On TV it looks so real.” His remark reveals how what one sees on television may all be an illusion, depending on the integrity of those reporting. He sits in front of the set, showing how he is the type of person who hijacks the quality of the news.

Lou has accumulated stories entitled “Horror in Echo Park,” or “Toddler Stabbed,” demonstrating the lurid nature of what he focuses on (interestingly, there is a billboard which is for eye glasses and has the words “Focus” on it, suggesting Lou’s moral focus is off. Also, IMDb says the sign may refer to the one in The Great Gatsby which advertises the work of the eye doctor, Dr. T. J. Eckleburg, which is a symbol for the failed vision of the American Dream. By the way, the “T. J.” part stands for Thomas Jefferson). Lou now has upgraded his ride to a brand-new muscle sports car, a Dodge Challenger, which can imply that he feels that he is now a contender fighting for the nightcrawler crown. Lou’s passive-aggressive style blindsides people. He first tells Rick that he likes how he has progressed, but then criticizes him for spilling gas while filling up his new vehicle, and calmly warns him he will terminate him immediately if he errs like that again.

“Making peace with what you don’t have, that’s what it’s all about,” is what Rick says as they ride in the car, which is what he has had to get used to. But, Lou obviously doesn’t ascribe to that notion, as he speeds off after hearing about a crash with injuries in an upscale neighborhood. It’s the kind of fear-mongering story that he has found sells. Lou sticks his camera in the face of the man, interfering with him trying to call 911. Now, Lou is no longer content with recording what he sees, he actually manipulates the scene, pulling the body of the victim to a spot that allows for more light so he can better photograph it. He doesn’t see his subjects as human beings to be respected. They are only objects for him to sensationalize with his invading lens. He is not above altering what he records to get the grizzly effect he desires. He tells Nina that he is focusing on “framing,” and adds, “A proper frame not only draws the eye into a picture, but keeps it there longer, dissolving the barrier between the subject and the outside of the frame.” He does not see the need to keep a professional distance between the observer and the subject. He literally is saying there should be no respectful boundaries between the two, and in fact is declaring that the only purpose of what is being recorded is to serve the recorder who joins the audience emotionally with the victim’s fate. He then asks Nina out, as he becomes more empowered and wants to satisfy more of his desires. She tells him it is inappropriate given their business relationship. Also, she points out that she is twice as old as him, which he says he doesn’t mind, since nothing is inappropriate to him as long as there is a bargaining process.

Loder catches up with Lou. His outfit is appropriately named “Mayhem,” since that’s what they film. He says he has been a nightcrawler for fifteen years and he says there are ups and downs, laying the groundwork for his offer of job security. He now tries to ingratiate himself with Lou, giving him the tip of uploading his work instead of wasting time dropping it off at the station. Lou, who at first was practically begging for a job from Loder, now seems aloof and dismissive as his success has increased. Loder says he has improved his own technology and now has a second van that he will use to cover the scenes even better, getting there first. He offers Lou the job of manning the second van, and even though his cut is less, they will make more money in volume. Loder is trying to show his dominance in the occupation, but he is also acknowledging Lou’s success as a competitor and wants to eliminate the competition by hiring him. Lou realizes that and flatly says no to the offer. Loder is angry and insulting saying that Lou should be grateful for the chance. Lou reverts to his passive-aggressive style as he calmly says that he wants to grab Loder by the ears and scream at him, “I’m not fucking interested,” but instead he will just go home and go over his accounts.

He does get Nina to have dinner with him, but his compliments are delivered like a list of what he has read in some online article, talking about how good she always looks, and adding that he likes her dark eye makeup and the way she smells. He does score points for saying Nina looks better than the young female at the station who delivers the news. He knows that she is from Philadelphia and says he can acquire a great deal of information about anyone, which sounds ominous in the hands of this invader and manipulator of privacy. After she asks if he wants to become a reporter to get airtime, he replies, in almost a monotone, that is not what he seeks. That goal is probably not successful monetarily enough, and way too intangibly driven for him. He wants to be the person who owns the TV station, and he must stay ahead of the competition, take risks (something he has demonstrated he has no problem with, even to the point of breaking the law), and expand the business by acquiring more capital. Without taking a breath he asks if she wants another margarita, since business and pleasure are all part of the same plan for him to become a successful entrepreneur.

Lou says he’s at the point that he wants a relationship that will coincide with job content and the hours. He says these things like it is just another item to check off his to-do list, with no emotion behind it, like a person pretending to be human. She wishes him well with finding such a partner, but says she only went out with him as a professional courtesy. He then negotiates, like he did at the scrapyard place and the pawn shop, only now it’s for sexual gratification. He backs up his boast of being a fast learner as he has studied the economics of the local news industry. He says he has single-handedly raised the book value of the TV station because although people say they listen to local news to get info, the overwhelming amount of airtime is devoted to the material he reports. And, with crime actually going down, the service he provides has become more valuable. He says he doesn’t have time dealing with “flirtationship,” and wants physical intimacy with her, just as she wants to keep her job and health insurance. Again, everything for him is a commodity, and he is saying that supplying her with his work can insure she will continue her livelihood, if she submits to him. She is angry that he insinuates that she needs him to keep her job. He counters that she is the news manager of the “vampire shift,” (an appropriate place for him to do his work), and that her station is the lowest rated one in LA. Just like with Rick, here he again preys on the most needy. He says that “I have to think you are interested in this transaction,” as he shows his coldness on a topic that usually involves physical passion. She tries to sway him by offering more money and getting him an additional job as a production assistant to learn the business from the inside. But he knows he has the upper hand, because his online research to discover vulnerabilities shows that she has had numerous two-year contracts at various places, so she has not established longevity in her employment. Her two years at the current station are coming up and the approaching ratings sweeps will determine her job situation, so she has no monetary clout to offer him given her probationary status. He adds to the business tone of his conversation by saying the true price of anything is determined by what someone will pay for it, basically saying she will acquire his services by paying in sexual favors. That stipulation sounds like the line that a Harvey Weinstein would deliver. He acts like he is also offering friendship, but she says friends don’t pressure friends to sleep with them. He disagrees and says, “a friend is a gift you give yourself.” He delivers this statement in a sweet tone and with a smile, as if a friendship is something to be cherished, but for him the emphasis is on self-gratification.

On the road with Rick, Lou is now a master of evaluating which event is more catastrophic and thus worthy of priority. He is resistant to Rick’s complaints about how Lou has put off giving him a raise, and Rick says he needs it because he’s living in a garage. For Lou, compassion is irrelevant, and says that Rick has no negotiating power since nobody else is trying to hire him away from Lou. He decides everything based on economic strengths and weaknesses. They arrive at a car accident with multiple fatalities, but Loder was already there and scored first. He gloats about how the event was great because of how horrible it was, and he has his other van covering a suicide jumper at the same time. His glee over cashing in on the devastation of others shows how we have entered a morally demonic, upside-down world.

At the station, Nina is livid about how the only footage Lou has provided is of a car crash and a stabbing, instead of an air crash elsewhere. She says she sold him as a ratings savior to her bosses, and she storms out demanding that she wants what he promised to deliver to her. Of course, her statement tells us that she agreed to Lou’s terms about having sex with him, and is now wanting her end of the deal upheld. Lou’s ambitiousness won’t tolerate this type of admonishment, and will spur him to transgress ethically even further.

When Lou hears the next day that the plane crash led the news on a competing channel, all pretense to calm calculation is ripped away. Lou ‘s face in the mirror of his medicine cabinet is one of a mad monster, as he screams and then slams at the reflection of the image of the failure he sees there. He goes to Loder’s place and sabotages his van. Later, after continuing his harsh criticism of Rick’s navigation, Lou wants to go to a reported car accident, surprising Rick who wonders why they are not checking out a rape, “like everybody else.” Apparently piling on the misery of a victim of sexual violence is the standard procedure for these nightcrawlers. But, Lou knows where he wants to be. Rick is shaken as they pull up to see that it is Loder’s van that has crashed into a pole. Rick says not to film it because “he’s one of us,” as he still holds onto some form of professionalism. That means nothing to Lou, who says Loder isn’t any longer part of their number, he’s “just a sale.” Lou has taken his idea of “staying ahead of the competition” to the point of violently terminating it, and more egregiously he then uses his crime to further his monetary gain. A bloody Loder sees Lou filming him, and probably realizes who is his tormentor. The irony is that Loder is now one of the stories he used to record. Lou no longer just tapes the pain and suffering happening in society, he creates it.

Lou and Rick then go to a home invasion, and arrive before the police. It is just the kind of story Nina talked about wanting, since it is an upscale estate. Lou hears gunshots and witnesses and records the perpetrators as they get into their vehicle and speed off. Lou approaches the residence and films an automatic weapon on the porch. He shoots (his camera is his version of a gun, causing its own type of harm) the blood on the floor and the victims. There is lullaby music in the nursery, adding to the sadness of the scene. He tapes a man on the floor as we hear him gasp for breath, while Lou shows no concern for this person. Rick, after the perpetrators leave, goes to the house and asks what’s going on. Emotionally detached Lou uses this macabre scene, in an extremely darkly funny way, to issue some advice about Rick not having gone inside the house shows a lack of initiative which is necessary to advance in his field. They speed away as the cops arrive. Wasting no time since he wants to beat any competition, Lou pulls over and uploads his footage to his laptop.

Lou goes to the station and calmly engages an angry Nina who is mad at him for not returning her calls if he didn’t have anything for her. He says he has a triple homicide, gives her the drive containing the video, and honestly states that he held off calling it into her to “increase” her “need” and his “bargaining position.” He follows the capitalistic playbook which glorifies the art of the deal, no matter how seedy the transaction. Nina is thrilled while looking at the video, but Frank is worried and looks at Lou with appropriate fear. Nina asks management how much can they show. She is asked does she mean legally, and Nina jokes and says no, “morally.” Of course she means legally, she says, as if doing the right thing is so irrelevant it shouldn’t even be considered. She may not think she is a match for Lou, but she already dwells in his ethical cellar. Nina says they can “pixelate” the faces and if they don’t divulge names and the exact location, they may be legally within bounds by not notifying the next of kin before airing in an expeditious manner. Of course, the news of the crime would soon become known and people will be able to put it all together, but maybe not before it is broadcast. Lou volunteers that he is the stringer who gave them the recording, which for him is a boast. But the others are asking what kind of person would film this horror movie?

Nina and Lou meet alone and he justifies his asking fifteen thousand for his work because of the racial and economic level of the violence, again putting a higher price tag on the deaths of privileged white people over those of impoverished people of color. When she says she can’t pay a month’s budget for one video, he says he will go to another station. He also says that the criminals are still out there, implying she will acquire ongoing compensation out of exploiting the fear of her viewers, which continues to show how he sees all human vulnerabilities as just opportunities to enhance wealth. He no longer tries to be even superficially polite. He tells her that he wants onscreen credit for his company. He demands to immediately meet with the whole station workforce and develop his own relationships with them. This request is most likely part of his plan to take over the station, as he stated at their first date. He also requires that they no longer waste time with haggling, which was his prior strategy. Whatever payments he asks for he wants with no questions asked, and he makes it clear that also goes for his demands at their sexual encounters. To sweeten the deal, he says he will throw in his footage of Loder’s accident for free, as if the footage of the man’s injuries is a perk.

To show how she has complied with his conditions, the next scene show Nina introducing Lou to those in charge. They call the home invasion “Horror House.” They will get extensive ratings by showing bits of the video throughout the day. Nina keeps telling the anchors to emphasize that the killers are out there and can attack again to stoke the fears of the viewing audience. They don’t even reveal that there was no baby in the crib, but want the audience to feel the fear that maybe they will be seeing a dead child, and only after the camera actually reveals the crib do they offer the relief that it is empty. The false cover story to protect against legal action is that Lou arrived to offer help and discovered the crimes. They receive information that the police are angry about the footage, and Lou welcomes the chance to deal with the police to sell his story of assistance and also to get more personal attention.

Police detectives show up at Lou’s home. He is very polite with the cops. He does say that he saw two men escape in a dark SUV. He reports he didn’t photograph them (a lie) and gives the police a doctored version that does not show the perpetrators. Later, in private, he identifies one of the killers by the license plate of the vehicle. He tells Rick that he also didn’t reveal that the male victim was still alive when he arrived, or else his story of wanting to help would be discovered as a lie. He tells Rick that they are going to visit the criminal he identified. He tells Rick that he will tell the cops about the man after he scoops the story. He tells Rick that he wants him to fulfill his potential and he will make him a vice-president in his video company, which is just a sales pitch, given that there are only two of them working. He does agree to a seventy-five dollar a night raise. He wants to again exploit Rick’s marginal existence in order to have him participate in a dangerous situation. Even though there is a $50,000 reward for catching the killers, he then will use the footage of the cops trying to apprehend the killer to sell the video. Rick now demands more money. He has learned negotiation techniques from Lou. He wants half of the reward because he can tell the cops that Lou hid information, and now is setting up a situation where he can profit from what he withheld and film the confrontation. Lou agrees, and Rick says that now he will go the “extra mile” since he is properly treated. But, despite supposedly gaining a bigger cut of the money, he knows that Lou is a person who has no compassion toward others, and he tells his boss that he’s “messed up” and doesn’t understand people.

They follow the killer when he drives away and later when he picks up his partner. Lou calls 911 and gives a description of the men at the restaurant they visit. He says one is armed so as to increase the possibility of confrontation with the police. There are six people in the restaurant, which will make what he films even more gruesome as Lou uses others to increase the violence factor so he can demand more for his footage. He wants Rick to shoot his video at another spot on the street. Rick sees how depraved Lou is and refuses, cursing Lou for his scheme. Lou scolds him for using obscene language toward his employer, as if that is the real infraction here. Lou then says that it isn’t that he doesn’t “understand” people, he just doesn’t “like them.” After what we have witnessed, we can easily buy indifference, but here Lou shows his distaste for everyone. Since he has hurt people before to obtain his goals, Lou now threatens to harm Rick for going back on his commitment. The intimidated Rick leaves with a camera to shoot from a different angle.

Police arrive on the scene. The killers start shooting and one of the cops is hit as well as one killer. The other one, though wounded, escapes and a high-speed chase follows with Lou in pursuit. There are collisions with innocent people involved, all acceptable collateral damage for Lou, and actually just more chaos for him to record. When a cop car collides with the SUV, Lou stops his car and lies to Rick, telling him to film the “dead” killer. Lou knows the man is still alive and as Rick approaches the vehicle, the criminal shoots Rick multiple times. Just when you don’t think Lou can get any slimier, he reveals how evil he is by eliminating his disgruntled employee and making him part of Lou’s orchestrated reality TV show of violence.

While Lou is still filming, the police arrive and exchange gunfire, killing the criminal. The ghoulish Lou goes in for a close-up of the dying Rick, as he did with Loder, and the man in the home invasion. Rick knows that Lou knew that the killer would shoot him. With a bottom-line, business rationale, Lou justifies his actions by saying to Rick he couldn’t jeopardize his company by retaining an “unreliable employee” who would use his bargaining power against him again. For Lou, like other criminals who are threatened by those that know of their wrongdoings and are no longer compliant, firing them actually means inflicting a death sentence. Before the cops can see Rick’s association with Lou, he relieves the dead man of his video equipment, and in the process recovers the tools of his despicable trade.

Lou enters the newsroom and he knows everyone by their first names now and schmoozes with them. As he wanted, they know his name and his video outfit. Nina is alone screening the video and she is almost orgasmic at the footage of Lou showing his own partner dying, calling it amazing. She says she wants “it,” as she is almost within lip touching distance with Lou. The “it” means the video, but it can also have sexual connotations as these two get off on the insidious nature of their jobs. The police show up demanding the recording as evidence of multiple deaths and injuries. Nina says that the video belongs to the station. The policewoman asks where they acquired it, and Nina says it was from an independent source, and says they have to talk to Lou if they have a problem.

Meanwhile, Frank tells Nina that the so-called “home invasion” was no such thing, as a large supply of drugs was found at the house. So, it was a drug-related crime, not a targeting of an affluent, law-abiding family. Nina wants to bury the truth because it “detracts” from the story. In this case “story” is the right word, because she is selling fiction and passing it off for truth to feed the baser drives of the viewership. She says the story they are promoting is that urban crime is creeping into the suburbs. If the facts don’t fit the headline, then they just obscure those facts. Frank says that she sounds like Lou, who she says, “inspires them to reach a little higher.” In this case, “higher” is definitely ironic, because in truth, they are diving lower in terms of ethical behavior.

Lou is questioned by the police. He is very aware that he is being recorded, even noting the type of lens used, which shows he knows how to handle himself in situations where a camera is involved. He covers up his saying previously that he didn’t see the men at the house “invasion” by relating that he noticed the SUV parked near his apartment. He says the killers then followed him and Rick. However, he says he lost them, and followed the SUV to the restaurant, calling the police when he saw one of the men had a gun. He says they must have discovered he contributed the footage of their crimes to the station and tracked him down. He says that seeing them again triggered his memory and he recognized them. Detective Frontieri (Michael Hyatt) is not buying his story. She insightfully says he sat on the evidence so he could get more footage to sell. His robot response is that her accusation would be beneath his professionalism, but we know Lou does not have that attribute. She knows he is lying and conspired in his partner’s murder. She points out his coldness about Rick’s death, as he even photographed the dying man. Lou calmly says Rick died doing what he loved, which sounds like a platitude he read somewhere since Lou is not capable of genuine emotion. He says he was doing his job by filming the mayhem, and with a sadistic smile tells the detective, “I’d like to think if you’re seeing me you’re having the worst day of your life.” That statement makes him a sort of angel of death. He then looks scarily right into the camera, appearing a bit like Norman Bates at the end of Psycho.

Lou walks away since there is no direct evidence showing he is lying. The camera focuses in on that same watch that he stole after attacking the man during his first act of violence, and shows us how far he has come in his quest to increase his monetary net worth at the expense of others. He now has interns and addresses them with a rousing speech that ends by him saying, “I will never ask you to do anything that I wouldn’t do myself.” It is a frightening prospect that this video prince of darkness now has his minions. According to IMDb, director Gilroy said that the last shot of Lou’s vans driving off in different directions through the streets of LA show, “the infection spreading through the veins of the city.” To borrow a quote from another horror film, “Be afraid. Be very afraid.”

The next film is Serpico.