Nightmare Alley review

NIGHTMARE ALLEY: 

GUILLERMO DEL TORO-DIRECTED NEO-NOIR THRILLER IS VISUALLY STUNNING AND ENGAGING, IF NOT A BIT OVERLONG! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett in Nightmare Alley

 

            Director, Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy 1 and 2, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water) returns to bring a new vision of the classic 1946 novel and 1947 film noir to the screen in Nightmare Alley. I’ve never read the book, nor have I seen the 1947 movie (I actually had no idea this was a remake until after I got home from the theater!) so I won’t be able to do comparisons between the two films and book, so I will be judging from the perspective as a regular movie-goer and del Toro fan. 

            I’ve always enjoyed Guillermo del Toro’s work whether we’re talking Oscar nominees and winners like Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape of Water, Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army, horror movies such as Mimic and Crimson Peak, and even dumb fun movies like Blade II and Pacific Rim. Much like Peter Jackson or George Miller, I consider him to be one of the absolute best filmmakers working today, with his distinctive visual style, imaginative characters and creatures, use of practical effects, and engaging stories; he pretty much puts most modern and mainstream filmmakers to shame with just about every single one of his films. 

            So, naturally I was hyped when this film was announced and I had just about every right to be, because not only was it a new del Toro film, but there was a huge, star-studded cast in front of the camera including Bradley Cooper (The Hangover trilogy, Marvel Cinematic Universe, A Star is Born (2018)), Cate Blanchett (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Carol, Thor: Ragnarok), Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man, The Lighthouse, The French Dispatch), Toni Collette (The Sixth Sense, Hereditary, Knives Out), Ron Perlman (Blade II, Hellboy 1 and 2, Sons of Anarchy), Richard Jenkins (Burn After Reading, The Cabin in the Woods, The Shape of Water), and Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011),Side Effects, Carol) to name a few. With such a powerhouse cast and an equally talented director, I thought this was going to be the best Guillermo del Toro movie ever made, and after coming out of it I can gladly say that it is…good! 

            This is definitely one of del Toro’s most ambitious films as it doesn’t have many fantastical elements or creatures and despite being called Nightmare Alley, it isn’t much of a horror film. There are creepy moments in it, but it is a lot more atmospheric and slow-moving than the trailers probably made it out to be, it’s more of a thinking-man’s thriller. 

            The film follows down-on-his-luck, Stanton “Stan” Carlisle (Cooper) who endears himself to clairvoyant, Zeena (Collette) and her has-been mentalist husband, Pete (David Strathairn-The Bourne Ultimatum, Lincoln, Nomadland) at a traveling carnival and uses his newfound knowledge to craft his ticket to success. His ticket is to swindle the wealthy elite of 1940s New York alongside the virtuous and loyal, Molly (Mara), and con a dangerous tycoon (Jenkins) with the help of a mysterious psychiatrist (Blanchett) who might be hiding secrets of her own. 

            The film also stars Dafoe as Clem, Perlman as Bruno, Mary Steenburgen (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Elf,Step Brothers) as Miss Kimball, Holt McCallany (Alien 3, Three Kings, Fight Club) as Anderson, Clifton Collins Jr. (The Last Castle, Thief, Westworld) as Funhouse Jack, Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother, Where Art Thou, Syriana, The Incredible Hulk) as Carny Boss, Jim Beaver (Supernatural, Deadwood, Justified) as Sheriff Jedediah Judd, David Hewlett (Stargate franchise, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Shape of Water) as Dr. Elrood, Lara Jean Chorostecki (Hannibal (TV series), X Company, Designated Survivor) as Louise Hoately, and Dian Bachar (Cannibal! The Musical,BASEketball, South Park) as Fee Fee the Birdgirl. 

            Overall, Nightmare Alley might be Guillermo del Toro’s most divisive film depending on whoever is watching it and I could easily see someone going into this expecting a horror movie like Crimson Peak or Mimic and being turned off by the slow pace and overlong runtime. However, those willing to continue forward will get a well-acted, thought-provoking, and almost-Hitchcockian thriller. 

            Despite the movie not feeling much like a Guillermo del Toro movie, it does look an awful lot like one in terms of the visuals, costumes, and production design. It has sort of like this Shape of Water tone except set in a carnival, which brings out both a sense of fear and mystery as well as wonder and the great unknown, and in my opinion, I think it works quite well. 

            The acting is excellent especially from Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett, Cooper as this charismatic but down-on-his-luck man who’s trying to make a living while also hiding a shady past and manages to be both a compelling and intimidating character at the same time, and this film is also home to some of the best acting I’ve ever seen from Cate Blanchett…saying more would go into spoiler territory! Even the actors playing the side characters are quite memorable like Willem Dafoe as the carnival owner who enlists Stan and Ron Perlman with only a few lines of dialogue as Bruno improves the film just by his presence alone. 

            The plot is very character-based and dialogue-heavy, especially when compared to other del Toro films and relies more on atmosphere and psychological terror rather than jump-scares and gore (Granted, there is a pretty graphic scene at the beginning of the film where a guy bites a live chicken’s head off!). For the most part, I was invested in the story and not knowing what’s going to happen next, but I can’t say the same for the runtime. 

            The film is two-and-a-half hours long and boy, does it feel like it? It starts off great and ends great, but somewhere in the middle the film was starting to lose me a bit. Not to the point where I thought the film was bad, but had it been cut down to 2 hours instead, I think it would have been much stronger. 

            Nightmare Alley is the black sheep of Guillermo del Toro films, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. There’s a lot to appreciate on a technical level and from the acting as well as directing and while I don’t think it’s quite as strong as some of del Toro’s other work, I still think this is worth a watch if you’re looking for a more thought-provoking and intelligent departure from typical horror/thriller cinema, plus it also gave me an opportunity to shed some light on a smaller film before diving into the massive blockbuster that is Spider-Man: No Way Home.