REVIEW #137 Nightmare Alley (2021)

Set in 1940’s New York Stanton Carlisle joins a travelling circus, learning the craft of Mentalism from a Clairvoyant and her husband. Armed with his knew knowledge he paves a way to success by swindling the wealthy and elite. But his ambitions ride along side a lot of danger. 

CAST & THE ACTING 

The cast is led by Bradley Cooper who plays Stanton and he delivers another fantastic performance, he has definitely cemented himself as one of my favourite actors. The different versions of his character throughout the film perfectly depict the journey of greed and ambition but it’s done on such a personal level that the audience becomes super invested in Stanton Carlisle. I would say the supporting acts are almost split in two, the first half Cooper has Willem Dafoe to bounce off of and he, as always, is incredible. He does well to sell a character that the audience can never really trust, despite  the kindness he extends to Stanton. Cate Blanchett plays Dr Ritter and she is introduced in the second act, this was a much more intimate partnership for Cooper and the pair worked brilliantly together. There are plenty of familiar faces that pop up across the film and there wasn’t a single bad performance in my opinion, everyone delivered! 

PLOT & THE STORYLINE 

The trailer does brilliantly at not giving away the plot, I really didn’t know what to except from the film but I actually really liked the storyline. Nightmare Alley uses the age old premise of the man with the sketchy past joining the circus but does it in a way that creates so many intriguing, complex characters. Apart from the character Molly, everyone else seems to be a character that the audience can never really trust. This meant that I was always on the edge of my seat, always trying to work out who would go on to be the main antagonist. The film does well to show the power of greed and the dangers that come with it, we see the effects that it has with lead character Stanton and the films main focus is on his rise and his fall. What I really loved was the small discrete bits of information fed to the audience throughout the film that, if you was paying attention, could help you piece together where the film was heading and how it would end. It really comes full circle, almost ending how it started for Stanton and that’s something I really appreciated. Granted the run time is rather long so there were definitely slower moments where the pacing was a little off but I think it did help flesh out the story.

CINEMATOGRAPHY & SPECIAL EFFECTS 

The cinematography was really good, there are some beautifully shot scenes in Nightmare Alley and especially when it was set in the circus. It was a really effective Neo-noir esque film from De Toro and I also want to mention the cinematographer Dan Laustsen who created a a stunning aesthetic for the film. There was also a strong musical score that helped build the suspense. The costume and set design looked great and helped create an authentic 1940’s feel. The only special effects I could think of is towards the end, there are a couple of deaths which were actually surprisingly gory, it looked realistic so job well done there!

OVERALL (8.5/10)

I read a lot of mixed reviews for Nightmare Alley so I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. The entire cast performed well, Bradley Cooper, Willem Dafoe and Cate Blanchett were fantastic and the chemistry between them really sold those characters and their flaws. The storyline is gripping, there are so many untrustworthy characters that I was always on the edge of my seat waiting for one of them to become the central antagonist. The neo-noir style was nice and the overall aesthetic of the film created some beautiful scenes. The pacing was a little slow at times given the 2.5 hour run time, that would probably be my main criticism of the film but it did help to flesh out the characters. The ending for me was perfect, it really went full circle and although you could see where it was going it was still executed nicely. I would definitely recommend watching it for sure! 

Thanks for reading.

Callan