Nightmare Alley

Nightmare Alley (2021)

My top tip from the 2018 Oscars was (eventual winner) The Shape of Water so I had high hopes for Guillermo Del Toro’s latest yarn. I hadn’t heard great things from friends and found the (all too common) run time of two and half hours dispiriting. But rules are rules and on I ploughed. And I gotta say, to hell with my friends, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It’s New York in the late 1930s and we see Bradley Cooper join the circus. Well, a carnival, with attractions like a human electrical conduit (Rooney Mara) and being seduced in particular by a clairvoyant double act. Once ingratiated in all facets of the freak show he strikes up an affair with Mara and heads off to make his own fortune.

As thrillers go a carnival is a perfect setting to set your nerves on edge. They reek of corruption and duplicity. At the best of times you’re on high alert so as not to be conned.

We’re taken on a tour of this underworld with a seductive cast in fabulous attire. I love watching contemporary actors play dress-up from a bygone era. Pure escapism.

As head Carny Willem Defoe guides us through the exhibition, highlighting tricks of the trade with fearsome authority. Toni Collette and David Strathairn are underused but command our attention introducing Cooper to crystal-ball gazing and the art of mind reading. A suspiciously youthful looking Cooper provides the conscience (and as a producer also scoops a staggering ninth Oscar nomination. One day Bradley, one day).

Channelling vintage Lauren Bacall we are finally introduced to sceptic psychiatrist Cate Blanchett, materialising directly under a spotlight like an Angel amongst Art Deco. I’m confident in saying that Blanchett can never give a bad performance. Mainly because she always appears to be having a great time and why would anybody begrudge her that?

Posing an interesting observation of psychology being no more authentic than the art of clairvoyance this is a beautifully shot film full of epic portraits - mainly of hatted silhouettes observing from the shadows - and a score reminiscent of the director’s earlier work with a hint of Danny Elfman’s Batman Returns. Like Del Toro’s earlier films this transports you far away from real life for a good few hours so submit and enjoy the excursion.

9 Geeky Thumbs Up👍🏻