Nightcrawler is billed as a neo-noir crime thriller, which may be a category entirely created for this film. Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) is passionate about finding his niche, and when he does, it's in a job that banks on other people's tragedy. Bloom becomes a stringer: someone who shoots footage of accidents and crime scenes and sells it to news stations. Bloom becomes good at it: too good. He starts aiding his job by contributing to the cause. He's obsessed and sociopathic. Gyllenhaal pegs the creepiness. Bloom gets to the point that he's basically running the show and blackmailing the director of a news channel (Rene Russo). Bloom moves from Toyota Tercel to Dodge Challenger: from handheld camcorder to professional equipment. He transforms into a geeky little monster and stops at nothing. Proof that the good guy doesn't always get ahead. Proof that what we see isn't always as important as how we see it.