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Nightmare Alley

 A review by Brooks Rich

In 1939 Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) is a drifter who finds work with a traveling carnival run by Clem (Willem Dafoe.) He befriends the clairvoyant Zeema (Toni Collette) and her husband Pete (David Strathairn) learning the tricks of the trade from them, such as performing a cold reading and working a crowd. Zeema and Pete also warn him to never do the "spook show", which is essentially pretending to summon the spirit of a mark's deceased loved one. Stanton falls for the alluring Molly (Rooney Mara) and eventually the two of them leave the carnival. Two years later they are a successful clairvoyant act in Buffalo when they are challenged by the alluring Dr. Ritter (Cate Blanchett). Through her Stanton is put in touch with two powerful men, who seek to use the abilities they think Stanton has. 

On the surface this looks like director Guillermo del Toro has made another supernatural film. But in fact Nightmare Alley is a straight up film noir, nailing the look, time period, and characterizations. Stanton is very much a noir archetype, a mysterious character with a troubled past whose hubris leads him towards destruction. Blanchett is the femme fatale who is clearly dangerous but too alluring to ignore. The scenes Blanchett and Cooper have together are electric, a chess match between two people who make a living off of reading others. 

As always del Toro goes above and beyond with art direction. The sets in this, especially the carnival, are spectacular. Del Toro's gothic vision blends well into the world of film noir. Del Toro's biggest strength is probably the look of his films and that's no different here. This film is gorgeous and a testament to have doing something practically is superior to millions in special effects.

The film is long and has three acts that are very distinct from each other. A title card could pop up announcing each act. There's a few moments that don't play so well, a lie detector scene made me kind of go meh, but these are nitpicks. This is Del Toro's best film since Pan's Labyrinth. He knocks it out of the park with this one. No spoilers either but the ending of this film is one of the most perfect noir endings I've seen. For me this is a near perfect movie. Check it out. 

Rating: 5/5



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