Nightcrawler - Ending Explained

The film's third act reveals Lou's ultimate manipulation. He arrives at a triple homicide before the police and films the killers' faces and their license plate. Instead of turning this evidence over, he tracks the killers to a restaurant. He then calls the police to report their location, setting up a shootout that he can film exclusively.

In the ensuing chaos, the killers' car crashes. Lou tricks his assistant, Rick, into approaching the wreck by saying the gunman is dead. Lou knows the gunman is alive and films from a safe distance as Rick is shot and killed. Lou then films Rick's dying moments, telling him, "I can't work with you entirely," because Rick had tried to blackmail him earlier.

Lou uses the footage of the shootout and Rick's death to secure his position with Nina. When interrogated by police, he fabricates a story that clears him of wrongdoing. The film ends with Lou expanding his business, 'Video Production News,' with a new team of interns and two new vans. He has faced no consequences; instead, he has thrived by sacrificing human life for content.

The Capitalist Superhero: Some interpret the film not as a tragedy, but as a perverted success story. If you remove moral judgment, Lou Bloom is the perfect capitalist hero: he pulls himself up by his bootstraps, works hard, takes risks, outsmarts the competition, and scales his business. In this reading, the film satirizes the very concept of the 'American Dream' by showing that the qualities required to achieve it are monstrous.

The 'Alien' Observer: Another interpretation views Lou as almost alien or non-human. His awkward speech patterns, inability to blink during intense moments, and mimicry of human behavior suggest an entity that is trying to learn how to be a person by watching TV and reading internet articles, but never quite gets the 'feeling' part right.