MovieChat Forums > Nightcrawler (2014) Discussion > When Lou nearly died [spoiler]

When Lou nearly died [spoiler]

posted 8 years ago by jezfernandez
7 replies | jump to latest

After Rick dies, Lou continues filming as the gunman gets out of the wreckage and points the gun at him. Lou makes no attempt to run away - do you think this shows his steadfast commitment to getting his amazing footage?

At the end, he tells his new crew, "Remember - I will never ask you to do anything I wouldn't do myself." At first, I thought this was a sick joke, since he sacrificed Rick. But he really killed Rick to stop the blackmail (not that that makes it okay!) Lou kept filming the gunman with no thought for his own life, in order to get that great closing shot.

Thoughts?

[–] TxMike 8 years ago

My thoughts? It is a filmmaker's choice to show a sort of fairy tale invincibility about Lou. He obviously would not have known the dying man wouldn't shoot, but his scripted "invincibility" prevented him from being shot.

If instead the filmmakers had him shot and killed it would have been a completely different type of movie, a much inferior one.

..*.. TxMike ..*..

[–] jezfernandez 8 years ago

Interesting view.

It seemed to me that Lou's overriding concern was always to get the best shot possible, even if that means entering a crime scene minutes after the household has been brutally shot dead! He sent Rick up the street to get a different angle of the restaurant and stayed in the car to get his own shot (which he claimed was a more dangerous place to be). Look also at the way he drives, with Rick clearly terrified.

I think Lou would put his own life on the line for the sake of getting that winning shot. The dark side comes from where he will put other people's lives on the line (like Bill Paxton's Joe and ultimately Rick).

[–] mider2009 8 years ago

Something about Lou reminds me of Hannibal letter, I guess it's that invincibility.

[–] soulfulsound 8 years ago

The fact that Lou continues filming when the gunman faces him clearly demonstrates two things he's already mentioned about himself. One, that he has often been described as "determined" and secondly, that the definition of "fear" is "false evidence appearing real."

[–] KingCobra686 8 years ago

Remember that Lou has an impression of himself as some kind of clever underground entrepreneur who has a successful business and knows exactly what hes doing. When he does sketchy stuff, hes seeing himself as being bold and risk-taking, not a criminal paparazzi who breaks the law. He probably sees himself as a mentor to these interns whos willing to take the big risks and challenges alongside him.

[–] nocakeforyou 8 years ago

I think the guy with the gun was so shocked and creeped out by Lou that he couldn't do anything but run away.

[–] dillontom 8 years ago

I thought he was distracted by the police car arriving and that is why he lost interest in Lou.