Nightmare Alley is now available on Digital and will be released on 4k, Blu-ray and DVD March 22. A unique and compelling vision from Guillermo del Toro, filled with fantastic performances from a stellar cast!
“From visionary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro comes a suspenseful psychological thriller about a manipulative carnival man (Bradley Cooper) who teams with an equally deceptive psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) to grift the wealthy in 1940s New York society. Del Toro co-wrote the enthralling film with Kim Morgan, based on William Lindsay Gresham’s novel.”
Guillermo del Toro is one of the more interesting directors out there. Always striving to deliver his most undiluted vision of the stories that fascinate him, we’ve been gifted with unique, visually stunning tales such as Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy, Cronos, The Shape of Water, just to name a few. His journey of creativity doesn’t always mesh with mainstream Hollywood visions, and thus, is usually known as an underdog when trying to bring his visions to life. For Nightmare Alley, it wasn’t studio interference that plagued the production, it was the pandemic, shutting down filming in the middle of the production.
Despite the interruption, Nightmare Alley turns out to be a very interesting, entertaining film about grifters and fake psychics who prey on unsuspecting individuals. When a down-on-his-luck man with a troubled past, Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper), wanders into a carnival, he’s given a chance for work, a place to sleep, and hot meals. Learning the ins and outs of the carnival business, his ambitious nature to wow and deceive audiences starts off advantageous for his friends, but when his mentor, Pete (David Strathairn), dies under suspicious circumstances, the knowledge that he warns Stanton of is now in his hands, which is how best to ‘read’ people and convince them of almost anything.
The film can subsequently be separated into two parts: Stanton’s life in the carnival, and then everything after. While this is a very dark film overall, the excitement of the carnival, the camaraderie between everyone there, and the sheer star power of the cast of everyone involved, makes this first half of the film my favorite part. Guillermo del Toro uses his unique style to give the carnival a dark and mysterious look, with his iconic horror elements that make one of the attractions an all-too real look at the dubious and sinister nature of man. While I think he could have gone much further in exploring some of this, (because what other director comes to mind when you think of possible strange carnival attractions?) Guillermo del Toro chooses to explore the characters much more than the otherworldly elements that he’s known for. Between the two, it’s a good choice, as the audience becomes more invested in the Stanton character, whom we know absolutely nothing about his past, and it helps propel the story forward of an otherwise long film at a 150-minute running time.
The second half of the film takes a drastic turn, as we now see Stanton two years later who has honed his craft, hosting sold-out shows for upscale high-society types who can’t get enough of his so-called ‘gift’. While Pete and his other carnival friends warned him to stay away from ‘spook’ shows, in which he claims to be able to speak to dead loved ones of his intended marks, his ambition and ego continue to get the better of him, until he gets over his head. While I won’t get into specifics about this portion of the story, it does start to feel a little slower at times, with a very predictable ending. That being said, the evolution of the Stanton character and his journey is compelling, interesting, and given Guillermo del Toro’s real-life history with so called psychics who plagued his family claiming knowledge of his kidnapped father, it demonstrates his passion about the subject and the exploration of the morals of this type of practice.
We were given a digital copy of this film for review, with the physical release due on 3/22/22. The film is available now on Digital and streaming. The disc is sure to have extras, with superior video and audio, something that cannot be accurately reviewed based on differing internet connections for each individual. Surprisingly, this physical release is getting both a Blu-ray and 4k release. With the stunning visual style of Guillermo del Toro, I for one will be picking up the 4k release, and I’d recommend you do the same for this one!
