Review of Nightmare Alley (2021) by Eludiumq36 — 09 Feb 2022

"Nightmare Alley" ($30M take) follows a 30s-era carny conman in a murder thriller by Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pacific Rim, Shape of Water). It features Hollywood Hall of Famers but the mostly colorless '30s era setting is off-putting and a big reason why it was a box office fail; it's tv fare, what used to be called direct-to-video, had no business in theatres.

Anyway, the plot is pretty decent, who doesn't like to see conmen at work and to ultimately get their comeuppance? The movie starts off with Bradley Cooper's "Stanton" character looking so much like Indiana Jones but that image faded fast as he was more villain than hero there.

Cate Blanchett's "Lilith" character shows up in the second act and she's got a delicious role she sinks her teeth into. The film features two climactic scenes though. The first one plays out his long-con but isn't up to the story standards that precede it, seems poorly constructed and doesn't pay off well.

You'll end up yelling "really?!". The second one comes shortly after between him and Lilith which is better, more plausible. The denouement is pretty decent featuring a callback to act one. It's a decent enough film but its low-budget and 30s-era setting won't appeal to many.