Nightmare Alley Review
7.5/10
This is an overused phrase, but in this case, it is applicable: They don’t make films like this anymore. Nightmare Alley is a film I admire more than love. The elements that work well are spectacular. It is visually stunning and has universally fantastic performances, especially from Bradley Cooper. This is easily my favorite role of his. He has all the swagger required to play a mentalist. Fooling an audience into believing you have a genuine connection to the other side takes a lot of talent and charm.
The film drew me in with an atmospheric opening where Cooper’s character Stanton Carlisle is dragging a body into a hole in the floorboards of a house. He drops a match then walks away from the home as the building burns behind him. From there he hops on a bus and makes his way to a carnival. He wanders through and gives us a macabre tour of the gothic parade. He ends up at a tent presided over by the owner Clem, played by the brilliant Willem Dafoe.
Here he is introduced to a grotesque exhibit where a man in a pit bites the head off a live chicken. Such a person was known as a “geek”. Stanton ends up getting a job as a carny. The job is low pay, but it gives him a place to lay low. All this is done without Cooper saying a word. I loved this starting section of the film. It is the perfect way to introduce us to the world and Stanton. Having him be silent for this portion makes him the eyes of the audience, taking in the vivid details of the carnival.
These scenes at the carnival are the best in the film. They are grand in design, yet tactile. I could imagine myself walking around this place, soaking in the sights and sounds. Guillermo Del Toro never diminishes these people and what they do. Carnivals have a history of brutal treatment of those who work there. The film never turns its head to the harshness of the surroundings. These people may not have the most romanticized life, but they have a family in each other. That sense of community and support is the backbone of these early parts.
Stanton starts working with a clairvoyant act, Madame Zeena and her alcoholic husband Pete. Toni Collette is wonderful as always as Zeena and David Strathairn brings heart to a character who could have been a caricature. Here is where the seeds are planted that will set the stage for the rest of the story. Stanton becomes fascinated with their clairvoyant act and learns the art of being a mentalist from Pete. They have a strict moral code for how they perform. If an audience member is too distraught by the idea that these performers are in contact with the other side, Zeena explains that what they saw was a trick.
She does not want to hurt anybody. She and Pete warn Stanton about going down this path of leading people on and deceiving them with false claims of supernatural connection. Stanton is less certain about this tactic; he believes it is okay to offer false hope to those in need if it helps them. This ethical dilemma forms the soul of the tale and made me wonder if Stanton may have somewhat pure intentions with his work. He eventually admits that his act is a fraud, so he has self-awareness deep inside.
If only the film could sustain that momentum throughout. Here is where it starts to falter. Stanton meets Molly, a young performer who has a show involving her enduring massive amounts of electricity in front of a crowd. Rooney Mara does what she can with an underdeveloped role. Stanton catches her eye and the two form the beginnings of a relationship, much to the chagrin of another carnival performer, Bruno, who is her appointed guardian. He is played by the wonderful Ron Perlman, an actor who elevates any role he is in.
The love story the film tries to set up feels too rushed. They have chemistry and he gives her an idea for a new show that can best utilize her talents, but the way the film shifts focus to them does not feel earned. I was so immersed in the dynamics between the carnival performers and this incredible world, pushing all that aside for a romance was an odd choice. If it had had more time to grow and develop, I would have enjoyed it more.
I think the film would have been stronger if it stayed at the carnival longer. We are shown hints of dynamics between the many artists there, but the film moves away from those things too fast. Stanton and Molly fall in love and eventually leave this place behind to reinvent themselves as a double act in New York City because the script told them to rather than the decision being a natural development. Maybe we could have spent the first half of the film at the carnival, traveling to different locations and getting to know the artists more. At around 2-and-a-half hours, the film could spare that running time.
The story picks up its dropped tempo with the introduction of Cate Blanchett as the psychologist Dr. Lilith Ritter. She tries to expose their act as fraudulent during a show, but Stanton utilizes his skills to deflect her accusations and humiliates her in front of everybody. Blanchett does a great job and gives more depth to her character than I was expecting. I will not go into where Nightmare Alley goes from there. The story stumbles a bit when it comes to the Molly character but manages to regain its footing later on. The narrative wobbles don’t derail the film completely, but they are enough for me to feel less engrossed than I could have been.
Del Toro excels at humanizing monsters, even ones as manipulative as Stanton. Through the mentalist performances, he sees how easy it is to twist people’s emotions. His descent into immorality and deception is a psychological minefield. He becomes increasingly blatant with his tricks, pushing the envelope far beyond the point of no return. I had an instinctual feeling as to where his journey would end. Despite my issues with some of the narrative decisions, the film culminates in an immensely satisfying way.
At its best, Nightmare Alley is a twisted moral tale showcasing the corruption of the human soul. The film does not resonate with me in the same way Del Toro’s other films have, but I am happy to see a blockbuster budget attached to an intelligent adult story with soul and passion. I’d rather watch a flawed gem like this rather than a film that feels like it was made by an algorithm. If enough people see Nightmare Alley, maybe one day Del Toro can finally make his long-shelved project At The Mountains Of Madness.
