Post by sethan on Dec 19, 2021 23:14:07 GMT
Very good review by Discussing Film.net
[ Del Toro and Morgan’s script imbues the film with a vibrant Old Hollywood aura, one that is amped up by an ensemble that is more than game to flaunt this style. At the center of it all is Bradley Cooper in what can only be described as one of the most refined performances of his entire career. His take on Stanton Carlisle – a nobody that swindles his way up the rankings of a freak show carnival, soon becoming one of the most sought out mentalist acts in America – is full of nuance and vigor. He embodies the hustler persona seamlessly, saying more with his facial expressions and body language than words ever could. It’s a performance that proves to be far more layered as the story progresses, even fooling the viewer hook, line, and sinker as he perfects his grift as an ace mentalist. For a movie devoid of literal magic, Cooper makes it feel totally present with his tricks and deception.
Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett own the screen just as much, operating like two polar forces on Carlisle’s moral compass as wife and mistress respectively. Both are illusionists of sorts in their own right, one a former sideshow freak and the other a high-end psychiatrist, however, only one can take hold and pull their shared lover’s strings. Mara’s execution is filled with pathos while Blanchett’s is more unrelenting but still oh so alluring. Much like the rest of the cast, the two are certainly capable of fitting into their archetypal roles, the damsel and femme fatale in this case, though this interpretation of Nightmare Alley offers them more agency to take their characters further, avoiding the stereotypes of this genre’s past. This all plays into Del Toro’s greater vision, wherein Cooper’s lead traverses the narrative like an “hombre fatale” so to speak, full of mystery and self-destructive heartbreak.
[/quote]
discussingfilm.net/2021/12/06/nightmare-alley-review-guillermo-del-toros-most-wicked-work-yet/
[ Del Toro and Morgan’s script imbues the film with a vibrant Old Hollywood aura, one that is amped up by an ensemble that is more than game to flaunt this style. At the center of it all is Bradley Cooper in what can only be described as one of the most refined performances of his entire career. His take on Stanton Carlisle – a nobody that swindles his way up the rankings of a freak show carnival, soon becoming one of the most sought out mentalist acts in America – is full of nuance and vigor. He embodies the hustler persona seamlessly, saying more with his facial expressions and body language than words ever could. It’s a performance that proves to be far more layered as the story progresses, even fooling the viewer hook, line, and sinker as he perfects his grift as an ace mentalist. For a movie devoid of literal magic, Cooper makes it feel totally present with his tricks and deception.
Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett own the screen just as much, operating like two polar forces on Carlisle’s moral compass as wife and mistress respectively. Both are illusionists of sorts in their own right, one a former sideshow freak and the other a high-end psychiatrist, however, only one can take hold and pull their shared lover’s strings. Mara’s execution is filled with pathos while Blanchett’s is more unrelenting but still oh so alluring. Much like the rest of the cast, the two are certainly capable of fitting into their archetypal roles, the damsel and femme fatale in this case, though this interpretation of Nightmare Alley offers them more agency to take their characters further, avoiding the stereotypes of this genre’s past. This all plays into Del Toro’s greater vision, wherein Cooper’s lead traverses the narrative like an “hombre fatale” so to speak, full of mystery and self-destructive heartbreak.
[/quote]
discussingfilm.net/2021/12/06/nightmare-alley-review-guillermo-del-toros-most-wicked-work-yet/
