Rating: 8.5
I hate to say it but I feel like this is a movie most people won’t get. Hell, even I thought it wasn’t for me until the halfway point when I realized what it was doing. This is Guillermo del Toro’s take on a film noir, and wow was it ever brilliant. It subverts and expands on many trademarks of this style of film, and I thought it was really well done and felt like it was a classic film itself. It really is an old style film made with modern technologies and sensibilities, and I loved that! It’s a shame many won’t see this movie, but it feels like it was only made for a certain audience anyways.
When the movie started, I had no idea what it was going to be and where it was going, and I hate to say it but the start did feel very slow. It wasn’t until about the first hour mark that I was able to see what del Toro was doing and the reason why he spent so much time on the beginning. The second half is really where it most clearly dove into film noir territory too, and its when I really got into the movie! I loved the direction it took, showing the rise and eventual fall of our doomed protagonist. The movie is also quite dark and disturbing and has many shocking moments, especially in the last half hour!
The true star of the movie is the visual elements. The production design is rich and ultra detailed, it feels like a movie truly shot in the 40s and fits so well. I loved the gorgeous sets and colours used. I even loved how they used smoke/steam effects and snow with lighting. Shadows, a classic staple of film noir, are used excellently and really help to enhance the story. The cinematography was also truly excellent, and I loved the way the camera would just glide along and move through locations and scenes, it really helped to establish the world of the story. I also loved how del Toro used horror techniques to really enhance moments in the film, and it worked alongside the film noir elements so well!
Bradley Cooper plays Stanton Carlisle, a mysterious man convinced he is going to make it big by conning the rich with the assistance of a cunning and manipulative psychiatrist, played by Cate Blanchett. Right there, we have the classic film noir character types filled; the doomed protagonist and the femme fatale. And both these actors play their roles to perfection. I especially loved Bradley Cooper, he is a perfect noir protagonist and really gives off this sense of unpredictability, and it’s some of the best work I’ve ever seen from him. I love his characters arc to, and especially in how it’s foreshadowed in the opening scenes. With this movie it just got better as it went on and as Carlisle slowly became more and more corrupt until he met his unfortunate fate.
It feels like a perfect neo noir movie and I love the production value behind it. It’s very cleverly written, and while I don’t think it’s the best movie of the year, it’s easily one of my favourites from del Toro and is extremely well done! It really feels like a modern version of a 40s film noir and that’s why I really loved it! This is true cinema, don’t be dismissive of this one!
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IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
RT Audience Score: 71%
Metacritic Score: 70
CinemaScore: B
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Searchlight Pictures
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro & Kim Morgan
Based on the novel by William Lindsay Graham
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Rooney Mara, Richard Jenkins, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, David Strathairn
Runtime: 2hr 30min
Rating: 14A
Crime, Drama, Thriller
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In 1940s New York, down-on-his-luck Stanton Carlisle endears himself to a clairvoyant and her mentalist husband at a traveling carnival. Using newly acquired knowledge, Carlisle crafts a golden ticket to success by swindling the elite and wealthy. Hoping for a big score, he soon hatches a scheme to con a dangerous tycoon with help from a mysterious psychiatrist who might be his most formidable opponent yet.
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Fun Fact: Guillermo del Toro's film is not a remake of Nightmare Alley (1947), but a re-adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham's novel.
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