Disgust.
Pure and simple disgust, in the best way possible. That sounds weird, but give me some time to elaborate.
In 2014, Jake Gyllenhaal lost over 30 pounds to play a role in Nightcrawler. In just a few months, he got back up to his normal weight and gained another 15 pounds of muscle to play a ravenous boxer in Southpaw. That alone deserves mention, and perhaps worry.
However, I want to focus on the former movie.
Throughout Nightcrawler, Gyllenhaal’s character becomes increasingly horrible. He goes from a man wanting to make a career for himself to a monster who doesn’t care who lives or dies.
Throughout the last quarter of the movie, his behavior, his treatment of life or lack thereof, and his indifference to everything around him completely disgusted me. The way he portrayed his character, or the character itself made me feel physically sick. To be able to portray a character like that in such a way deserves all the praise.
His performance ranks highly among my favorite performances of all time. He was sadly robbed of an Oscar nomination.
It still gives me the shivers.