Nightmare
Alley
2021
Director- Guillermo del Toro
Cast- Bradley
Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Ron Perlman, David
Strathairn, Mary Steenburgen, Richard Jenkins, Mark Povinelli, Holt McCallany, Peter
MacNeill
Stanton
Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) is on the run from the law. He seeks shelter by
taking up with a traveling carnival headed by an amoral boss (Willem Dafoe).
There Stanton meets a cadre of colorful characters; Major Mosquito, a wrestling
little person; Bruno (Hellboy’s Ron Perlman) an old school aging strongman; Zeena
(Toni Collette) and her partner Pete (David Strathaim) who run a mentalist
show; and the sweet and lovely Molly (Rooney Mara) who has an act where she
lets electric currents run through her body.
Stanton
buddies up to Pete and Zeena and learns all the tricks of the trade when it
comes to convincing people that you’re psychic.
Pete warns Stanton however, to never run a “spookshow”, that is,
convincing people that you can speak to ghosts, because it gives them false
hope. Upon mastering the techniques, Stanton convinces Molly to leave the
carnival with him and open an act for themselves.
Stanton
and Molly are raking in the dough until one night they are challenged by a beautiful
blonde (Cate Blanchett) who questions the veracity of their act. Stanton
decides to up his game by running the “spookshow”, against Molly’s objections,
and convincing a rich judge in the audience that he can speak to the judge’s deceased
son.
Statnon
is intrigued by the beautiful blonde who turns out to be a psychologist, Lilith
Ritter. Statnon and Lillith concoct a scam of their own where Stanton can make
an untold fortune. In return Stanton must agree to submit himself to psychoanalysis
by Lilith. Stanton goes down the rabbit hole of convincing people that he can
speak to the dead until the whole thing comes to a head with some dire
consequences.
The film
is not really a horror movie, but its also not not-horror. Rather, its walks
the lines between horror, noir, dark fantasy, and psychological thriller. Cate
Blanchett is very much a femme fatale and her character would fit easily into
any pulp thriller. It also uses elements common in horror movies like tarot
cards, freakshows, and dreams. Guilt and sin are reoccurring themes throughout.
The film isn’t scary but it will keep you engaged despite its rather lengthy 2
and ½ hour run time.
It’s a Guillermo
del Toro film, so you know it will be nice to look at . Set in the early 1940s
it has an authentic look. Each character has their own motif as far as costume.
Some of the sets look very expensive and I can’t help but wonder how much was
built vs CGI, though it all looks real. Though the themes are completely
different than Angel Heart, the two films would make a nice pairing as noir
thrillers from a bygone era.
Fun fact- Nightmare Alley is neither an original film nor
a remake. Rather, it is the second cinematic adaptation of William Lindsay
Gresham’s 1946 novel of the same name. In addition to 2 movies, the novel has
also been adapted into a graphic novel and a musical.
