Monday, December 13, 2021
Nightmare Alley
Four years after winning the Oscar with "The Shape of Water" (2017), a romance story involving an amphibious creature, the writer-director Guillermo del Toro returns with a gripping human crime story in a dazzling film noir "Nightmare Alley" (USA/Mexico/Canada 2021 | 150 min.). This is the second adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham's 1946 novel, and it's remarkable the story can still resonate with today's American society after three-quarters of a century. Guillermo del Toro once again shows his excellent craft in storytelling and unveils his arresting characters like a skilled showman during a magic performance. Bradley Cooper may finally get his Oscar for playing the ambitious and deceitful protagonist who is unable to escape the grave he digs for himself.
That protagonist is Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper). In the opening scene, set in the late '30s, he drags a body into the middle of a house before he sets it on fire. Then he drifts to a traveling carnival, led by Clem Hoately (Willem Dafoe). Even though Stanton says very few words when he first gets a job from Clem and is offered a place to sleep, his keen eyes take in everything he observes. He learns the secrets of mind-reading from Zeena (Toni Collette) and her alcoholic husband Pete (David Strathairn). He falls in love with Molly (Rooney Mara), a girl who runs electricity through her body, and practices the mind-reading act with her. But Stanton doesn't see this traveling carnival as his destination. He has bigger ambitions than entertaining the public who pays quarters to see freaks and geeks. He wants to have his own show and make more money. He persuades Molly to join him and leave the carnival, against the advice of Bruno (Ron Perlman) who has been a father figure to Molly.
The movie then proceeds into its second act, taking place in the upper class society in New York in the '40s. Dressed in a fine tuxedo, Stanton now performs his mind-reading acts with Molly among the rich elites. During a performance, Stanton meets an astute psychologist, Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett), a true femme fatale. After learning Lilith has access to many wealthy clients, Stanton sees a bigger opportunity to pull off a con job with her, against a tycoon Ezra Grindle (Richard Jenkins). As Stanton slickly plans out his deception schemes while being sexually involved with Lilith, he sinks deeper into a dangerous game of illusion and becomes part of it himself.
Despite the interruption in filming for half a year because of the pandemic, the director Guillermo del Toro and his team terrifically created a gorgeous looking film that conveys this timeless story. While the first half of the film vividly displays the grim atmosphere in the traveling carnival world often associated with mud and rain, the second half contrasts it with the most sumptuous decor, often with tranquil snow falling outside windows. It's two completely different worlds, and Stanton tries to cross from one to another. But his greed and his own ego nail his fate and doom his ambition.
Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett marvelously portray the two fascinating characters who are both playing dangerous mind games, one is charismatic and the other is foxy. They both think they are smarter than the other, and both are driven by the desire for money, control, and recognition. The traits of these characters are still relevant to today's American society, even though they were written a long time ago. That might be the reason for Guillermo del Toro to be drawn into recreating them instead of another story about supernatural creatures, and he delivers handsomely.
"Nightmare Alley" opens on Friday, December 17, 2021.