Director
Dan Gilroy
Leading Actors/Actresses
Jake Gyllenhaal
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Rene Russo, Bill Paxton
Genre
Crime, Thriller
Language
English
Awards
Nominated for Best Original Screenplay Academy Award
Date of Release
September 5, 2014
Producer
Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Litvak, David Lancaster
Setting and Context
Los Angeles, night time, generall in the more affluent areas of the city.
Narrator and Point of View
The point of view is primarily that of Lou Bloom.
Tone and Mood
Salacious, shocking, thought provoking.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Lou is the protagonist, Rick is the antagonist when he tries to use the knowledge he has about Lou as leverage for a raise.
Major Conflict
There is conflict between Nina and her news team because they have an ethical awareness that she seems not to care about; they are in conflict over what they should show on the news and what they should not.
Climax
Lou expands his business and even takes on interns because his footage continues to be used by the news station run by Nina.
Foreshadowing
Rick's trying to leverage a raise foreshadows his death since Lou is not going to save anyone who can use knowledge of him against him.
Understatement
The news team wondering if using the footage of the dead victims of the home invasion is ethical, but the question itself is an understatement in that it is not the showing of the footage that is unethical. It is the fact that it exists at all.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
The director wanted to film the movie as if it was a wildlife documentary rather than a feature film, wanting to juxtapose the city's wildness and freedom of spirit with the darker underbelly of the life lived by Bloom. In order to accomplish this, a wide angle lens was used in order to manipulate the depth of field.
Allusions
The film alludes to real-life news channels in Los Angeles, specifically Pat Harvey's channel and her reporting tenure there.
Paradox
The more unethical Lou becomes, the more Nina seems to like him.
Parallelism
There is a parallel between the level of salaciousness of the news stories and the size of the audience watching.
