Nightmare Alley (5 Stars)

This is a wonderful film by Guillermo del Toro, whose last film, "The Shape of Water", won him two Academy Awards for the Best Film and the Best Director. Considering his previous successes, it's amazing that his new film has been so under-promoted. No trailers were shown in the cinema in the weeks leading up to its release. I saw a poster hanging outside the cinema, the one shown above, but del Toro's name wasn't apparent. I didn't know that the film was by him until a friend pointed it out to me. I immediately knew I had to see the film.

"Nightmare Alley" has been described as neo-noir. I don't know what that word means, and I doubt anyone else does. It's just a word thrown about to describe crime films. It was also claimed that "Nightmare Alley" is a remake of the 1947 film with the same name. That's not true. It's the second adaptation of the book called "Nightmare Alley" by William Gresham. The new film isn't in any way based on the old film. Any similarities are the result of having the same source material.

The film begins with Stan Carlisle killing a man. We find out more details as the film continues. Stan goes on the run and joins a carnival. He's fascinated by Zeena, a mind-reader. It seems real, but Stan is told it's all a show perfected by her husband Pete. Stan moves into their house and learns from Pete. He eventually leaves the carnival and sets himself up as a mind-reader.

Stan meets a psychologist, Dr. Lilith Ritter, who sees through his fake readings, but is nevertheless impressed by his talent. Together they devise a scam to get money from rich people in New York. She gives Stan information about them from her therapy sessions which he can use when reading their minds.

For me it was fascinating to hear the tricks of fake psychics. William Gresham must have done a lot of research to find out their secrets.

The film is a slow burner. The suspense slowly builds for more than two hours. We know that Stan's steady rise to the top of his profession will finally result in a fall, but how will it happen? The viewer is left in suspense until the end of the film. It's an excellent film, and I'm glad I didn't miss it.