Nightmare Alley
Nightmare Alley doesn’t feature gore, but del Toro has created a tale of mind-manipulation and moral decline. It’s an adaptation of a William Lindsay Gresham novel, which spawned a 1947 cinematic version.
Del Toro creates a dreamlike and nightmare-like atmosphere straight away, from leaving the blazing ruins of his past life to the carnival where he finds sanctuary. It’s here that learns the tricks of the trade from Zeena (Toni Collette), which sparks a romance with Molly, played Rooney Mara.
For the second half, Stan runs away to the city with Molly to reinvent himself. Together they dazzle unsuspecting audiences with their mentalism show, until psychiatrist Dr Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett) clocks their game and draws Stan into her own nightmare. When Blanchett enters, the film shifts up a gear. These scenes are some of the highlights of the film along with an excellent ‘creepy’ performance from Richard Jenkins as the powerful Ezra Grindle.
Nightmare Alley is very cinematic – beautifully lit, with gorgeous production design particularly in the city. You often don’t know where it’s going but eventually it heads into smashing faces as the plot heads towards its bloody conclusion. Highly recommended.
The film opened mid-January and is still showing in some multiplexes.
