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By the time a mystifying Bradley Cooper utters his first line of dialogue as Stan Carlisle, we’ve already seen the character drag a corpse and set a house on fire, just a few minutes into Guillermo del Toro’s lavishly configured take on “Nightmare Alley.” When the man arrives at a 1930s traveling sideshow, he finds himself on the run, not from the law but from his own unresolved feelings of resentment. He finds himself among curious acts of benign mentalism and bizarre cautionary tales.
They are aimed at the operation’s geek, an alcoholic man who has been dehumanized for the purpose of vicious entertainment who is on the run from his captor inside a disturbing attraction that warns visitors they will be damned if they do not leave. What Stan doesn’t realize at this point in the arc of his meteoric rise to top-billing enchanter and subsequent calamitous fall is that he is, in fact, staring into a mirror at the same time.
It isn’t just because of Edmund Goulding’s 1947 film adaptation or William Lindsay Gresham’s original novel that we can guess where Stan’s road will take us that we can guess where Stan’s road will take us. Even those who are unfamiliar with one or both of the materials can recognize the cyclical parable that del Toro establishes through his understanding and repurposing of noir tropes, both visually and thematically, in the film. “Nightmare Alley” is a film about psychological tunnels and downward spirals, directed by David Lynch. Stan runs the risk of getting lost and never making it out the other side if he enters them.
The rotations of an imposing Ferris wheel appear to be the most explicit manifestation of circular symbolism. Yet another feature of Tamara Deverell’s impeccable production design, which is heavy on green and gold tones, is the disorienting depth of the world when Stan finally arrives in Buffalo, New York: long corridors, spacious offices, and narrow streets that serve the film’s dramatic needs rather than historical accuracy.
With the work of cinematographer Dan Laustsen, who is now in his fourth collaboration with the Mexican filmmaker and whose use of single-source lighting creates an ethereal, glowing aura around the actors, Deverell’s work is inextricably linked to that of the Mexican filmmaker. If there is such a thing as impeccably artistry, there is also del Toro’s productions, which have an almost unmatched level of detail, at least in terms of genre cinema. Del Toro’s signature monsters aren’t entirely absent from his new vision, as a pickled creature named Enoch, who has a third eye, floats in a state somewhere between artifice and legend in a state between artifice and legend.
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At the carnival, Stan meets and becomes acquainted with a distinguished group of eccentric characters. Among them are two of del Toro’s previous collaborators, Clifton Collins Jr. and Ron Perlman, both of whom appear in only minor roles. A new calling, however, is discovered by the “young buck” in the form of the odd couple, Zeena (Toni Collette) and Pete (David Strathairn). They can pretend to read minds and guess objects while blindfolded if they use a sophisticated word code to do so. The deceitful antihero’s goal is to gain control over the general public’s incredulity, which he accomplishes by courting Molly (Rooney Mara), another carnie who is taken in by his effortless panache.
Cooper, who has established himself as one of Hollywood’s most consistently intriguing actors in terms of his role choices, creates magic with an unassumingly sensational performance that charts the trajectory of his Stan from dubious naiveté to deranged confidence and finally pitiful resignation. Rather than trying to replicate the air of a classic star, the goal here is for us to believe these transitions and question our assumptions about how heartless he truly is.
In addition to the obvious differences between the 1947 version and del Toro’s 21st century adaptation, there are a number of subtle differences as well, including a deeper understanding of the characters’ motivations and existential vicissitudes. As an example, Cooper’s embodiment of a boy in the body of a man still crying out for validation, and raging against the world in the disguise of success to demand it, lends greater significance to Stan’s father issues.
Nightmare Alley Quiz
Take, for example, an early scene in Zeena and Pete’s home, in which the elder man demonstrates his manipulative skills to the couple. In spite of the fact that Stan presents himself as a happy-go-lucky guy with bright eyes, he falls for the demonstration that implies he had a tense relationship with his father. The comfort of another’s recognition allowed him to feel emotionally exposed for a brief moment, only to discover that he is merely one component of the common denominator. He was treated as if he were a book, demonstrating Pete’s point.
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“People are desperate to be seen,” Pete exclaims. “People are desperate to be seen.” “People are desperate to reveal their identities to you.” That phrase is both succinct and piercing, and the amount of truth it contains is chilling. He goes on to express concern about “spook shows,” which he describes as “playing with fire” by pretending to have supernatural powers and being able to communicate with the afterlife. Naturally, that is exactly what Stan sets out to do as he and Molly flee the countryside for the big city in search of a better life.
Stan’s unscrupulous route comes into contact with Dr. Ritter (Cate Blanchett), a psychologist who has a disdain for those like him who swindle the gullible out of their money when he is at his most accomplished. Blanchett creates a cunning femme fatale who is armed with intuitive people-reading skills as well as the information she possesses. Her performance is deliciously malevolent. A paragon of elegance, the actress stands out for her knowingly devilish gestures and pointed interrogation, which dismantle her adversary’s façade and reveal the truth behind the mask. Never underestimate Blanchett’s uncanny ability to outperform even her own high bar of performance.
As Lilith interacts with Stan, she becomes increasingly aggressive, repeatedly draining the attractive charlatan of his shaky self-confidence with each session. That tête-à-tête between her and Cooper in her opulent office is among the most riveting scenes in the film, as the weaker link emerges as a result of the shift in the power dynamic between the two characters. In his drunken stupor after convincing wealthy older men that he can communicate with the afterlife to atone for their sins, Stan comes closer and closer to his impending doom, which is preceded by instances of gruesome violence in the first half of the film.
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“Nightmare Alley” is hypnotic because of its increasingly tense, slow-burning plot progression and alluring atmosphere, but it drags the viewer down with its self-destructive lead character. Stan’s unchecked greed eventually leads to him being trapped in a circle of hell he has created for himself, or, if one prefers to be compassionate, a circle of hell he has created for himself because of his predisposition to strive for more in order to fill a void. Whatever the case, the film’s final shot, which was foreshadowed by the director, reverberates as a tremendous tragedy.
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