Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley is a masterclass in reimagining a classic film. This lively neo-noir is as vibrant in color as it is in black and white. You can now stream this new classic on HBO Max.
Undoubtedly one of the best films exhibited in theaters last year, Nightmare Alley is a near-perfect film. The camera work, colors, costumes, and set pieces are stunning. Content-wise, this is one of the few films that have come out in recent years to take you on a journey. All films are supposed to, in fact, take audiences on some adventure, but few fail to produce something this surprising (if you haven’t seen the original film or read the novel, that is). Watching Nightmare Alley, it is hard to tell what is coming next, allowing the audience to become fully immersed in the story. Starting from the opening scene, there is so much mystery surrounding Bradley Cooper’s character, Stan, and that mystery is matched by the carnival folk he joins.
Greed. Ambition. Deception. Lust. Power. These themes are not any that we haven’t seen before, but where this film stands out is in the execution. Every frame feels rich with clues and gives you a firm understanding of each character’s nature. Take Stan as an example – he shows up at the carnival and immediately sees the opportunity to make his own dreams for fame, fortune and power come true. Stan wants to influence the lives of others. Stan not only wants to have agency over his life, but he wants agency over other people’s lives. He is determined to learn the ins and outs of the carnival and spends significant time with the people who can help him reach that goal. He uses everyone to ruthlessly build his illusion, much like the circus manager, Clem Hoatley (brilliantly portrayed by Willem Dafoe). Through that guise, Stan sees Pete (David Strathairn) and his wife Zeena’s routine and immediately sees how he can exploit their show to his advantage, but first, he needs to find a partner.
Although Stan is having a rendevous with Zeena (played by Toni Collette) behind her husband Pete’s back, Stan does not set his sight on taking Zeena with him. Instead, he closes in on the much younger and more trusting feminine companion, Molly (Rooney Mara). Stan fills her head up with his dreams (along with promises of love and commitment), and they leave the carnival to take their show on the road. Stan finds success with Molly performing a nightly psychic act, but Stan’s ambitions far outweigh Molly’s. During their choreographed production, Stan is called out by a critic – a psychologist named Lilith. Cate Blanchett is a scene-stealer as the femme fatale, Dr. Lilith. Stan barely outsmarts Lilith, which draws him to her. As the two mental terrorists join forces for more power and influence, Stan’s mentalist routine takes a dark turn down a dangerous road of deception with some of the most powerful men in the city.
The story takes place in the 1940s, but the overarching themes are as timely as ever. To put it simply, this film is about exploiting the pain of others for entertainment. The most exploitative characters in this film (ie. Stan, Clem, and Lilith) all have a God complex – fooling their “geeks” into believing the ruse and, in doing so, fooling themselves into believing they have “power” over people. As Stan ascends, he looks for his own space to perform – his own place where he can play God in front of a naive audience. He doesn’t do the show at the circus because that is Clem’s carnival. He runs the show, and that is his world to build. Clem is also a brute with obvious power. Stan knows he cannot fool him, so he does not challenge him. When Stan visit’s Lilith’s office for the first time, Stan does not realize that he is in Lilith’s world – that he is infringing upon her show. From the beginning, he underestimates her and the lengths that she is willing to go to win by assuming that he “knows” her. He fools himself into thinking that they are the same when she acts as the “God” in her social circle by taking on influential people as patients. Lilith is not “Zeena” or the “Molly” in this performance. She is a high-powered “Clem,” and Stan is her geek.