Review of Nightmare Alley (2021) by Tvjerry — 21 Dec 2021

Bradley Cooper plays a ne’er-do-well who ends up in a 30s traveling carnival. He meets a mentalist and takes the act on the road with his girlfriend (Rooney Mara). A few years later, he’s parlayed the act into a high society gimmick.

In his scheme to bilk the rich, he enlists a glamorous psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett, doing a fabulous femme fatale). Director Guillermo del Toro has crafted a beautifully-shot noir with lush deco art direction.

The carny sequences are fascinating, but do lag longer than needed before the story move on. Del Toro has also created an assemblage of characters who aren’t especially empathetic, which bleeds into the story.

As a result, this is more appreciated for its lush cinematic style than its emotional effect.