Nightmare Alley - Cheap Thoughts

If you’re a surveyor of Guillermo Del Toro’s work for long enough, there is plenty to expect from him. He has a fascination with the macabre, to pull back the veil, to sympathise with it and bring it dimension. He finds beauty in the horrific, and with that talent he was able to take this story of a decrepit person, a manipulator and con-man, to have us see his life, his point of view and slowly witness his downfall and all those he would hurt along the way, and yet at no moment do you want to look away, bar the gore perhaps, but story-wise, it’s as enthralling as ever. Arguably this is the toughest sell of a character Guillermo has had to present. In the past it’s always been with very literal monsters but what do you do with a man? A broken man, to his core, his soul is poisoned and those who get close to him will only be poisoned in the process. He may have the handsome exterior and the charm of Bradley Cooper, but this man is more damaging than any other monster in Guillermo’s films.

Complimenting this wonderfully is the visuals, which of course should be no surprise to anyone that they are gorgeous, that Del Toro creates a modern-noir filled with dark shadows yet bright spotlights, a truly enthralling world and atmosphere that you become sucked into, you believe it’s real and you want to spend time there despite the nature of this world presented to be cold and cruel. Del Toro has transported us to worlds many a times and it is a talent that has not wavered in the slightest. There is nothing supernatural about what he offers us yet he is making magic happen on screen purely down to talent.

This is all very aggrandising of Del Toro’s talents but truth be told amongst his filmography this still could be seen as one of his weaker ones. Combining it’s length and it’s nihilistic content it’s certainly one of his less rewatchable ones, and everything stated above could easily be reworded to claim it’s more of the same, if you’re familiar enough with Del Toro’s work then this is hardly something that would reinvent the wheel. Then again why would you want to? He’s a master, one of the most talented filmmakers of our generation, him simply giving us more of the same is still leagues above what the majority are giving us. There is still challenge in there but it’s more so in the details than with the big picture. He brings out the best of his camera, his cast and his subject matter. To be standard is to be stellar, to ask for anything more feels selfish, it’s like asking a fish to be a better swimmer.

-Danny