Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93% (8.2 average) Why It Deserves Best Picture: No other film on this list, however, is as deserving of a Best Picture nomination (and frankly, even the win would be worthy) as Nightcrawler, a blackly comic satire of the news media, driven by an excellent lead performance from Jake Gyllenhaal as a slimy crime scene videographer. Getting Gyllenhaal a much-deserved nomination will be enough of an effort in a crowded Best Actor field this year full of bait-worthy roles, and so the film itself will be a much harder sell. It's also got the best role for Rene Russo in a long time, and up-and-comer Riz Ahmed is excellent as Gyllenhaal's trainee partner-in-crime, Rick. If you're prepared to follow Dan Gilroy down his grim rabbit hole, there are enormous pleasures to be found in this disturbing yet unflinchingly entertaining comic drama. Why It Won't Get Nominated: For starters, it's just too dark for the Academy. The Oscars don't really go for grim films unless they have a redemptive arc (as in, say, 12 Years A Slave), whereas Nightcrawler's refusal to dumb its protagonist down will likely leave a sour taste in older voters' mouths. It's pretty much guaranteed to be the film above all others that everyone complains wasn't nominated. Which great movies from the year do you think will miss out on a Best Picture nomination? Shout it out in the comments!
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
