"The city shines brightest at night."
Director: Dan Gilroy
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Kevin Rahm
Nightcrawler — Movie Quotes
Memorable Quotes
My motto is if you want to win the lottery you've got to make money to buy a ticket.
Context
Lou says this during a job interview at a scrapyard, trying to sell himself as a hardworking employee.
Meaning
Encapsulates Lou's warped view of success: it requires investment and risk, but he views it purely transactionally, ignoring luck or morality.
And I'm thinking that television news might just be something I love as well as something I happen to be good at.
Context
Lou pitching his services to Nina after capturing his first successful footage.
Meaning
Reveals Lou's frightening realization that his predatory nature is perfectly suited for the cutthroat world of crime journalism.
Think of our newscast as a screaming woman running down the street with her throat cut.
Context
Nina explaining to Lou exactly what kind of footage she wants him to capture.
Meaning
A grotesque metaphor that exposes the news station's editorial policy: fear and gore are the only metrics that matter.
What if my problem wasn't that I don't understand people but that I don't like them?
Context
Lou speaking to his "date" (Nina) at a Mexican restaurant while blackmailing her.
Meaning
A chilling admission that Lou is not socially awkward due to ignorance, but rather misanthropic and consciously detached from humanity.
I will never ask you to do anything that I wouldn't do myself.
Context
Lou's final speech to his new interns, framing his psychopathy as inspirational leadership.
Meaning
Ideally a leadership quality, but here a terrifying threat because there is nothing Lou wouldn't do (including die or kill) for the perfect shot.
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