Nightmare Alley (2022) Dir. Guillermo del Toro

A never-better Bradly Cooper plays Stan Carlisle in Del Toro’s new mysterious drama which sees his character head to a colourful carnival to lay low from a dark event in his past, whilst eventually learning the tricks of the confidence game.

Quickly, he’s offered a job by manager Willem Dafoe who also has a circus “geek” show, a practice whereby he lures desperate alcoholic hobos to degrade themselves by eating live chickens for a paying audience. Cooper also catches the eye of Madame Zeena (Toni Collette) and her husband Pete (David Strathairn) who ends up teaching him cold-reading tricks and mind-games.

Cooper is certainly mesmerising in his performance and his natural on-screen charm soon attracts Rooney Mara’s Molly. Together they plan to leave their show-life behind for something greater in the big city.

The film is structured into two halves with the second seeing Stan and Molly develop a new stage act for a wealthy crowd. And despite warnings, he uses his sneaky talents to dupe families looking to connect with dead loved ones. However, Stan needs information to deceive his clients and strikes a deal with psychologist Dr. Lilith Ritter (a wonderful Cate Blanchett). She agrees to share private details of her patients in exchange for Stan’s honesty in sessions – and also receive a share in his profits.

The story continues with Richard Jenkins as Ezra Grindle – a powerful individual attempting to contact his dead wife – and the film uses noir tropes to keep the audience guessing as to who knows what – and on whom.

Cooper is both charismatic and engaging, whilst Blanchett gives her own spin on an updated femme fatale-style role. Together, the two’s chemistry leaps off screen and reminded me of the Hollywood stars of the golden era. And I don’t say that lightly.

The support cast is also superb and together they all help to create a living breathing world with Rooney Mara as the put-upon Molly being a particular standout. Dropping her somewhat regular “weirdo outsider”, Mara is entirely sympathetic as the frustrated wife dragged into schemes she sees as more than slightly morally dubious.

You don’t need to be a mind-reader to expect Del Toro’s visuals to be as equally glorious as the actors. He mixes sepia tones, carnival colours and intense shadows allowing the cinemaphotography to wind its own way through the thematic secrets and lies of the movie.

The art deco production style echoes the superficial high life whilst the grimy circus tents and sludge reflect the muddy morals the film plays with. But in many ways, the carnival is a far more honest place with attendees accepting of a circus’ intentions, whilst the tricks Cooper plays on the bereaved are presented as far more deceiving.

A relatively quick (and somewhat obvious from the start) ending is the film’s slight flaw but, to be fair, it also completes the spiritual circularity of the movie in a gratifying way.

So if I was a fortune teller, I predict you’d have a universally glorious evening of entertainment with Nightmare Alley from the outset. Through its moral mysticism and mesmerising cast, this homage to noirs of the past is a deep dark dive into satisfying cinematic manipulation.

★★★★½

Michael Sales