Nightmare Alley

From the mind of Guillermo del Toro, comes a vintage classic with a touch of horror - Nightmare Alley. We follow a mysterious stranger with a dark, unknown past as he voyages in search for a job, but most importantly what he's after is knowledge, or rather knowledge that'll bring out his full potential.

You begin the film knowing nothing. The man we speak of joins a moving circus and the story officially kicks into gears. But you know he murdered and buried someone prior to his arrival here, and that's the extent of our introduction of him. Who is he and what is he up to remain a core part of the puzzle we are left wondering throughout the show. In fact, this is the major positive of Nightmare Alley. You have no idea where the story is leading to. You are not sure what's coming next. But you're hooked. With its slow and steady plot journey accompanied by wonderful music, we trust the writer-director as we travel along.

We see this man named Stan (Bradley Cooper) meeting various colorful characters and witnesses myriad tricks for the crowd. Electricity, strongmen, tarot card reading, enslaved man-beast, you name it! But the one he has his full eyes on is the art of fortune-telling. Early on, it's hinted at few instances that there's an aspect of this play involving communication with the dead which goes far beyond allowable territory. But Stan learns all of it to heart, elopes with a girl he loves and off they go starting a new life. This is where the real story starts. Up until this point, everything has been an elaborate, laborious set-up. This is more negative than positive as the progression is little. Furthermore, Molly's (Rooney Mara) role and specifically her relationship with Stan is weak due to the lack of strong foundation, confrontation and resolution before they fall in love. Another aspect of the story that doesn't correlate well with the overall plot is Stan's past. Although the way he murders his father is literally cold and merciless, you never feel nor understand his anger and reason for doing such a thing. And how this Lie connects to the journey he goes through is muddy.

Fast forward 2 years later, Stan and Molly are big time performers. They are a champion couple fully booked for their stunningly accurate prediction gig all over the city. But their marriage isn't in the shape it was once. The husband is now an expert at his craft, thoroughly focused on that while sidelining the wife. Enters a new sinister persona in the form of Cate Blanchett's Lilith and the tale takes a turn you'd never expect. She teams up with Stan and they try to con wealthy figures by helping them talk to their loved ones who are... dead. Remember the 'allowable territory'? Things escalate to ginormous insanity - blood and betrayal before the protagonist reaches resolution once experienced by the a man of desperate needs in the beginning of the film.

When you are talking about a Guillermo del Toro picture, you can't go not mentioning the production design. As expected, the work here is immaculate, unique, magical and at the same time, grounded! Cinematography is gorgeous, costumes are beautiful, prosthetics are outstanding and the film editing is scissor-precise! All the performances are gold and just look at the wealth of cast on display here! You have to see to believe the way the director visually captured the strong pre-impact of bullet meeting flesh!