NIGHTMARE ALLEY was a beautifully-made twisty period crime drama. Guillermo Del Toro is an exceptionally talented filmmaker with a sumptuous visual style, and this is probably his finest film since Pan’s Labyrinth.
It’s dark as hell, utterly compelling, with Bradley Cooper’s protagonist a lost soul falling deeper and deeper into a world of lies and corruption as he navigates seedy, murderous carnies and deadly femme fatales (Cate Blanchett on magnificent form), desperate to eke out success by any means possible.
It’s brilliantly done, and might be my favourite Noir film since “Double Indemnity”, though the sense of ever-present malice and near-supernatural dread reminded me an awful lot of “Angel Heart” too, peppered with elements of Tod Browning’s “Freaks” in there too, for extra disturbing effect.
It also really haunted my dreams the night after I watched it. Which you’ve got to respect – haha!
