Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) is an ambitious and talented carny. He possesses the ability to ease people’s minds, to convince them to do things and believe things, and to manipulate their perceptions of reality. When he takes his show on the road with Molly Cahill (Rooney Mara) they meet up with a dangerous psychiatrist, Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett). Soon Stan will be dragged down Nightmare Alley, and his livelihood, his well-being, and the people he cares about will be in danger.
Beautiful cinematography captures exactly what viewers need to see and keeps them in the dark for the rest. Cinematographer Dan Laustsen understands the intricacies of filmmaking, and he’s able to play with the minds of viewers as Nightmare Alley plays out. Laustsen has a unique way of capturing visuals and has the ability to manipulate viewers whenever and however he feels necessary–and while I don’t technically like being manipulated, what he and the rest of his team is able to accomplish throughout the film is uncanny and welcome. There’s a clear hierarchy that exists among the characters in Nightmare Alley, and even early on, based on the cinematography, viewers are able to understand the rankings of characters. Not only does the group tasked with cinematography bring this twisted story to life, but they allow the world to better understand the characters, their motives, and their places in the grand scheme of the film.
Darkness exists throughout Nightmare Alley, and it plays a significant role in the reception of the film, but it’s not the darkness that stands out to me. Cooper’s bright blue eyes peer through the darkness that permeates the film–and the juxtaposition of that deafening darkness and Cooper’s kind, blue eyes (a color that represents depth, trust, loyalty, sincerity, wisdom, confidence, stability, faith, and intelligence) makes for a wonderful marriage of meaning and tone. Interestingly enough, Cooper’s eyes add depth to his character, to the narrative, and to everything in between. Director Guillermo del Toro’s decision to allow this aspect of Cooper to literally shine through the darkness was an interesting, but massively important one–and it plays a significant role in the reception of the film.
Nightmare Alley feels like a dark, mysterious, and twisted version of The Greatest Showman. This film takes everything you know about show business and the carnival and viciously flips it on its head. As the veritable freak show ensues, viewers are pulled down the rabbit hole into a world of wickedness and moral corruption–but the train doesn’t stop there. Viewers fall further and further until they hit a murky ground, an all-consuming ground of absurdities and pain. Pain begins to fill the room, drowning those inside; but that pain is the vehicle by which the story of Nightmare Alley is told, and viewers become masochists in their own right. Feeling the pain of the characters on screen entices viewers and they buy into this slow turning wheel of doom–anticipating what will happen next, but even with the beautiful foreshadowing, those viewers never really know what to expect next.
Not enough can be said about Cooper. The world knows how talented he is, and how well he’s filled the shoes of popular characters such as Rocket Racoon and Chris Kyle, but I don’t believe that viewers have even seen this side of the actor before. Nightmare Alley sees Cooper as mysterious, duplicitous, but interestingly lively all at the same time. He brilliantly conveys emotion and drains happiness from the other characters, he’s reserved and extroverted–he’s everything needed for this role and for Nightmare Alley.
Finally, alongside every other phenomenal aspect of the film exists Nathan Johnson’s score. Somber, hearty, and energetic wrapped into one beautiful package–that is what Johnson presents to viewers, and with every piece of visual excellence exists an audibly tantalizing aspect as well. Nightmare Alley couldn’t possibly appeal to viewers in the same fashion had Johnson not prepared a score of this magnitude–but he did, and it does.
It’s hard to figure out what’s coming next, or even what’s occurring in the present–and del Toro creates a film that warms the cockles, but also antagonizes each of the senses. Nightmare Alley is one of the best films of 2021, as it creates so much dark relevancy and an intimate connection to viewers. The darkness, narrative, acting, and score combine to create something wonderful–and Bradley shines the brightest of anything.
Directed by Guillermo del Toro.
Written by Guillermo del Toro, Kim Morgan, & William Lindsay Gresham.
Starring Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, David Strathairn, Mark Pvonelli, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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