Nightmare Alley
This movie was not what I expected. I think that I am going to start this review with the one negative and then go to the positives. I do this because I really loved the film, I did! And I don’t want to leave people with the impression that I did not by leaving them with negative thoughts about the film. Oof. It is difficult to start with the negatives and go to the positives. I don’t like it.
This film could not figure out what it was. I mean, it went from a spooky, carnival movie, to a heist movie, to a thriller, to a psychological thriller. Pick a lane! That’s what I’m saying. I, personally, hate carnivals. I think they’re so creepy and evil and just remind me of The Phantom of the Opera. Especially in this film, the whole ”human oddity” thing was eerily similar to The Phantom of the Opera. With that being said, the world of a carnival is very interesting for a film. It is visually stunning and will intrigue people who are not like me, creeped out. I feel like if they wouldn’t have gone away from the carnival and kept that as a constant backdrop for the film, it would have been better. But, I mean, no one pays me the big bucks so do I even know what I’m talking about??
In all actuality, I liked this film a lot! It was dark, in the lighting sense, but it gave me quite a bit to think about, which I like when a film does that. One of the most interesting scenes in the film, to me, was at the very end and was just a close up scene of Bradley Cooper’s character laughing which turns into a cry. It was just beautiful and kudos goes to Bradley Cooper for being able to do that scene and be able to get across his insanity as well as his humanity in realizing what his life has become. As I am a fan of movie stars, I took special notice of the actors' performances in this film, because Oh! There were a lot of well-known actors in this film- not as many as in “Don’t Look Up” but still a lot.
Bradley Cooper continues to impress me in his abilities to do comedy as well as dramatic roles. He is able to just melt into his character and make his portrayal very believable. This wasn’t the most interesting of his roles which is probably why he is not receiving much accolades for this performance but I thought that his acting was just great. You are able to see parts of his humanity that are showcased at the beginning of the film then see how they are absent or covered by the end.
Cate Blanchett was just a pleasure. She was the best part of the film for me. She is so talented! She was great here in this role and was superbly believable. I think it is funny how Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara were in another film together after they were in “Carol” together. I wonder what it was like for them. Anyway, Cate Blanchett was great! I love her in everything she is in. I actually liked Rooney Mara!
I remember not really liking her in “The Social Network,” and since I was younger and more inept at separating the actor from the actors portrayal, I subsequently didn’t like her as an actress for a while. I liked her in this, though. I’ve heard reviews say that she doesn’t really have much of a part in the overall story, which was true. I liked her arc, though, and the life lesson her character taught us about getting out of toxic situations.
Toni Collette was fine. She didn’t really do anything for the film. She wasn’t bad. I don’t think she ever could be flat out bad, she just didn’t really add anything. She was kind of just there. Which was too bad because I think if she was given more, she could have done so much of a better job. Same with Willem Dafoe. He is such a good actor and I think his range probably extends outside what we know is possible. He just didn’t do much for me in this role. Maybe if he was given more of an arc for his character to go through, or maybe if he had more time to get to know his character he could have done an even better job. Something that I was just thinking about is, maybe the absence of some character arc’s is crucial to the story. Maybe the writer/director Guillermo Del Toro is trying to make a point by saying that if you live a life of monotony and trickery, your experience will never change. You will never grow and evolve as a human. Huh. Interesting.
See, I am still learning from this film and it’s been like a week since I’ve seen it. In my opinion, if you have the option of watching this film, then go ahead and watch it, but unless you’re a film nerd, like me, I would not recommend seeking it out to watch it. If you are a film nerd, seek it out. It’s a good watch.
Just one more thing, the light that came through the big window in Cate Blanchett’s office was beautiful! That design was just so enthralling and well done, it’s been on my mind since I saw it.
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