2022 Best Picture Review: Nightmare Alley
Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett, left) speaks with her psychiatry patient Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper, right) in her office. Nightmare Alley is nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture.
It’s our last review! I can’t believe that our awards season is coming to a close. I look forward to this every year, and I feel fortunate to have seen so many films that I would have otherwise missed. Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley is one of them. Nominated for four awards, this was an intriguing and long as heck movie.
“I know you well. I know you’re no good and I know that because neither am I.”
I think it’s about time that we talk about one of the least important issues of our time that really bugs me: MOVIES ARE TOO LONG. I have written about this before and I’m complaining again. I promise you that most movies do not need to be longer than two hours and fifteen minutes. I could probably list the movies that needed the extra fifteen minutes or more on one hand.
You know where I'm going with this. Nightmare Alley is too long. This neo-noir starring Bradley Cooper is part-circus, part-conman movie, and fully overstuffed. It’s exactly two and a half hours in length, and it just flat out doesn’t need to be. Did you know it’s a remake of a 1947 film, based on a novel from the previous year? Just an FYI: the 1947 film is a lean 111 minutes long. In this new iteration, Cooper plays Stan Carlisle, a man who finds himself down on his luck and taking a job at a carnival. While there, he meets friends who teach him all about sleight of hand and tricks on how to fool guests into believing that he can speak to the dead. Stan uses this to his advantage, becoming a popular psychic act, until he is threatened to become exposed for his fraud.
Although I came into the review hot with criticism, I really enjoyed Nightmare Alley overall. Guillermo del Toro is such a visionary director, creating worlds that are both creepy and beautiful. He is able to mix the macabre with the whimsical better than anyone, and I always find myself jumping headfirst into his wacky visions. While his lovely Oscar winner The Shape of Water is like a perverse fairy tale, Nightmare Alley takes the first part of its name seriously. The first part of the film, taking place at a carnival, feels dirty and run down. Despite being set in a place meant to evoke laughter and excitement, each of the characters display various degrees of sadness, anger, and exhaustion. Despite having a wonderful array of actors (Willem Dafoe and Toni Collette in particular), the first half really dragged on for me.
The second half is when the film starts to come together a little more. We meet Cate Blanchett’s character Dr. Lilith Ritter, a psychologist who at first tries to expose Stan as a faker, and then propositions him to work with her. Blanchett is always a marvel to watch on screen. Her beauty is otherworldly, and is matched by her phenomenal acting. She looks like someone who was plucked out of the 1950s, with her elegance and natural charm, so her presence really elevates the film. I also loved Bradley Cooper. He has consistently impressed me over the years, and his strong performance as a bad guy you just can’t bring yourself to hate certainly made up for my disappointment in 2019’s A Star is Born.
The biggest marvel of the film is in its production design. Weird, right? The second half of the film in particular is absolutely gorgeous. I still can’t get Cate Blanchett’s office out of my mind, with its art deco furniture and wood paneled walls. When Architectural Digest writes an article on the set design alone, you know you got it right. This made the film endlessly watchable, even as I was moaning and groaning about there still being an hour left. Of course, it is nominated for Best Production Design, and I hope it wins the trophy.
The end of the film cemented the fact that I would smash the like button. I would never give it away, dear readers, but del Toro has a way of giving a nod and respect to Old Hollywood while still creating modern masterpieces. I have to hand it to him, everything tied together effortlessly by the final frame. Definitely give this one a watch, even if you have to take a break in the middle for a nap like I did.
Rating: 8/10