Nightmare Alley (B or 3/4 stars)
Academy-Award winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has taken us down some dark paths before (Pan's Labyrinth, The Shape of Water), but this film, 'Nightmare Alley' is the darkest he has gone yet, adapting a 1946 novel of the same title (which was previously made into a 1947 movie starring Tyrone Power). Set during the Great Depression, the story pulls back the curtain on the operations of a mobile carnival, peering into the ugliness that's hidden from paying attendees. Halfway through the film, the plot shifts from a rural setting to the big city where the tone of the proceedings enters a neo-noir realm, replete with dangerous criminals, slimy grifters, a femme fatale and, to say that the end result is unsettling would be an understatement.
But let's start at the very beginning, shall we? When we 1st meet Stan Carlisle (Bradley Cooper), he is dragging a body across the floor before lighting it & the house he's in on fire {specifics of this incident will resurface in subsequent flashbacks}. He hits the road, happens upon a carnival & nabs a job working for Clem Hoately (Willem Dafoe), who tells him that everyone there doesn't care what 'he might have done in the past'. It doesn't take long for him to fit into the 'carny' lifestyle, becoming an assistant to card reader/clairvoyant Zeena (Toni Collette), her mentalist husband, Pete (David Strathairn), and romancing "electric girl" Molly (Rooney Mara), who is protected by strongman, Bruno (Ron Perlman). Stan is fascinated by 'the geek', a vagrant whose act involves eating live chickens. And Stan obsesses over Pete's ability to 'read' & manipulate folks to make them believe he has psychic powers.
Pete teaches him the tricks of his trade, but tragedy forces Stan to leave with a smitten Molly for bigger things; namely, nightclubs in the city where this duo can now con the elite with their own psychic act. Fate steps in when the act draws the attention of sophisticated psychologist, Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett). Seeing an opportunity, Stan offers Lilith a deal: if she gives him Insider info on her wealthy patients, he will perform 'spook shows' on them; pretending to speak to the dead for a lofty price that he'll split with her. The give-&-take btwn. Stan & Lilith is something to see. And I like how we don't know whether she has fallen for Stan, or if she is playing him for a sucker. Murphy's Law enters the fray when she warns him against conning Ezra Grindle (Richard Jenkins), a rich, powerful & tortured soul who falls for Stan's skills. But when Stan's ruse spins out of control … twists & chaos ensues.
Guillermo del Toro's pulp noir cautionary tale is as lush on the outside as it is depraved on the inside; a brutal, blistering dose of dark, twisted fate. 'Nightmare Alley' is a dazzling piece of work that, despite strong elements everywhere, does NOT go down easy. Several people left my screening saying "that was gross" {I assume they meant literally & morally}. The film includes a languorous 1st hour luxuriating in details of carny life, & then the lengthy details of the con game once Stan reaches the big city. Some of this stuff is interesting, but when you don't care about these characters, least of all our repellent 'anti-hero' Stan, it could make for an uncomfortable sit. Bradley Cooper commits to the role, but I didn't buy him as a slick con man and, only in the film's final shot does he compel. And because I had already figured out where final moment was headed ... the predictable conclusion left me cold.
Still, the movie is filled with velvety cinematic treasures: slick cinematography which highlights color & shadow; the astoundingly immersive carnival sets; Blanchett's opulent art-deco office; immaculate costumes; an edgy music score; and more. Blanchett looks & 'acts' like she just stepped out of a '40s noir classic. And actors like Mary Steenburgen, Clifton Collins Jr. & Tim Blake Nelson pop-up. But again, nothing can counterbalance the story's relentlessly despairing sense of doom & gloom. GDT throws everything at us, here: freak shows, stormy nights, innocent victims, risky schemers, & a femme fatale to die for. It offers a darkly beautiful dip into humanity's dark side. But the film feels emotionally inert; offering a host of unsympathetic, duplicitous people who defy empathy or interest. And because there is no anchor of humanity, del Toro's sinister fable about the nature's cruelty comes up a bit short.
But let's start at the very beginning, shall we? When we 1st meet Stan Carlisle (Bradley Cooper), he is dragging a body across the floor before lighting it & the house he's in on fire {specifics of this incident will resurface in subsequent flashbacks}. He hits the road, happens upon a carnival & nabs a job working for Clem Hoately (Willem Dafoe), who tells him that everyone there doesn't care what 'he might have done in the past'. It doesn't take long for him to fit into the 'carny' lifestyle, becoming an assistant to card reader/clairvoyant Zeena (Toni Collette), her mentalist husband, Pete (David Strathairn), and romancing "electric girl" Molly (Rooney Mara), who is protected by strongman, Bruno (Ron Perlman). Stan is fascinated by 'the geek', a vagrant whose act involves eating live chickens. And Stan obsesses over Pete's ability to 'read' & manipulate folks to make them believe he has psychic powers.
Pete teaches him the tricks of his trade, but tragedy forces Stan to leave with a smitten Molly for bigger things; namely, nightclubs in the city where this duo can now con the elite with their own psychic act. Fate steps in when the act draws the attention of sophisticated psychologist, Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett). Seeing an opportunity, Stan offers Lilith a deal: if she gives him Insider info on her wealthy patients, he will perform 'spook shows' on them; pretending to speak to the dead for a lofty price that he'll split with her. The give-&-take btwn. Stan & Lilith is something to see. And I like how we don't know whether she has fallen for Stan, or if she is playing him for a sucker. Murphy's Law enters the fray when she warns him against conning Ezra Grindle (Richard Jenkins), a rich, powerful & tortured soul who falls for Stan's skills. But when Stan's ruse spins out of control … twists & chaos ensues.
Guillermo del Toro's pulp noir cautionary tale is as lush on the outside as it is depraved on the inside; a brutal, blistering dose of dark, twisted fate. 'Nightmare Alley' is a dazzling piece of work that, despite strong elements everywhere, does NOT go down easy. Several people left my screening saying "that was gross" {I assume they meant literally & morally}. The film includes a languorous 1st hour luxuriating in details of carny life, & then the lengthy details of the con game once Stan reaches the big city. Some of this stuff is interesting, but when you don't care about these characters, least of all our repellent 'anti-hero' Stan, it could make for an uncomfortable sit. Bradley Cooper commits to the role, but I didn't buy him as a slick con man and, only in the film's final shot does he compel. And because I had already figured out where final moment was headed ... the predictable conclusion left me cold.
Still, the movie is filled with velvety cinematic treasures: slick cinematography which highlights color & shadow; the astoundingly immersive carnival sets; Blanchett's opulent art-deco office; immaculate costumes; an edgy music score; and more. Blanchett looks & 'acts' like she just stepped out of a '40s noir classic. And actors like Mary Steenburgen, Clifton Collins Jr. & Tim Blake Nelson pop-up. But again, nothing can counterbalance the story's relentlessly despairing sense of doom & gloom. GDT throws everything at us, here: freak shows, stormy nights, innocent victims, risky schemers, & a femme fatale to die for. It offers a darkly beautiful dip into humanity's dark side. But the film feels emotionally inert; offering a host of unsympathetic, duplicitous people who defy empathy or interest. And because there is no anchor of humanity, del Toro's sinister fable about the nature's cruelty comes up a bit short.