The pulsating shimmer of Los Angeles at night can seem either like a dreamscape fantasia or a topography of nightmares. In the new film “Nightcrawler” it is both, a land of opportunity and madness and left in some measure for the viewer to unravel.
The directing debut for Dan Gilroy, who also wrote the screenplay, the film enters the world of nighttime crime-scene videographers as a jumping-off point to explore contemporary media culture, self-created personalities in the Internet age and the boundaries of personal ambition. The film has its world premiere as part of the current Toronto International Film Festival, will have its U.S. premiere at the Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, and open in theaters on Oct. 31.