Nightmare Alley

NIGHTMARE ALLEY (15)

D: Guillermo del Toro

Searchlight / TSG / Double Dare You (Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale & Bradley Cooper)

US/Mexico/Canada 🇺🇸🇲🇽🇨🇦 2021

150 mins


Mystery/Thriller


W: Guillermo del Toro & Kim Morgan [based on the novel by William Lindsay Gresham]

DP: Dan Laustsen

Ed: Cam McLaughlin

Mus: Nathan Johnson

PD: Tamara Deverell

Cos: Luis Sequeira


Bradley Cooper (Stanton Carlisle), Cate Blanchett (Dr. Lilith Ritter), Toni Collette (Zeena), Willem Dafoe (Clem Hoatley), Rooney Mara (Molly Cahill), Ron Perlman (Bruno), Richard Jenkins (Ezra Grindle)


William Lindsay Graham’s novel was initially bought to the screen in 1947, starring Tyrone Power, before Guillermo del Toro adapted the psychological thriller for this 2021 version.

Bradley Cooper stars as Stanton Carlisle, a small-town grifter in the U.S. Depression Era who finds work at a carnival and manipulates his way up the star attraction card to become a bogus psychic.

Straight off the bat, the film looks impeccable, with breathtaking cinematography which make the vivid colours pop right off the screen and period detail that never fails to convince of the setting.

Excellence in production aside, the narrative does drag and a good 30 minutes could have been trimmed to make for a snappier pace, especially in the middle act, but that can easily be forgiven with the twisted genius of the finale.

It may not be the best film of 2021, but it’s certainly one of the best looking.

7/10


Bradley Cooper in Nightmare Alley
Bradley Cooper in Nightmare Alley