Nightmare Alley (2021): Movie Review

Directed by

Guillermo del Toro

Nightmare Alley is a slow burn that, like one of Stanton Carlisle's shows, sets you up for a finale that takes your breath away and makes everything else worth it.

Based on a book that was already adapted into a classic film of the 1940's, Nightmare Alley is Guillermo del Toro's first directorial effort since his Oscar-winning efforts in The Shape of Water.  It tells the story of Stanton Carlisle, played by Bradley Cooper, who appears to have a questionable past when we meet him.  He stumbles upon a circus and finds a home among the illusionists and freak shows.  While there, he befriends a mentalist (David Strathairn) and fortune teller (Toni Collette) and begins to learn the tricks of their trades.  As Carlisle becomes confident in his abilities, he steps out on his own and starts his own show, however a partnership with a psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) leads him to possibly push his skills and abilities passed what he can handle.

This is probably Guillermo del Toro's most grounded film, as all the fantastical here is illusion.  It is a beautiful film, with great cinematography by Dan Laustsen.  The direction and visuals set the scene for the actors to give masterful performances, led by Bradley Cooper.  This is one of Cooper's best performances in awhile, and he draws you in as he discovers and becomes part of this wild world.  The rest of the star-studded cast are brilliant as well, from Rooney Mara to Willem Dafoe to Ron Perlman to Richard Jenkins to Clifton Collins Jr. to Tim Blake Nelson.  The standouts in the supporting group are definitely Strathairn, Collette, and Blanchett though.  All these performances draw you into the story and instantly have you invested.

The script and story definitely take awhile to get going.  It earns its 150 minute runtime by really taking its time setting the scene and the world this film is creating.  For the first hour or so, I was wondering where the movie was going and when the action was going to pick up.  It definitely gets more intriguing once it leaves the circus, but you can tell everything is building up for the final act.

Nightmare Alley was going to be made or broken by if it could deliver on the climactic ending.  A film like Christopher Nolan's The Prestige failed in not having the payoff it needed.  A film like Ridley Scott's Matchstick Men succeeded because of how it stuck the landing.  Luckily, the last 30 minutes are some of the best filmmaking, acting, and scenes of the entire year.  You are waiting the whole time for something to happen, but when it finally does, it still manages to shock no matter how inevitable it seemed.  My jaw was dropped as I saw each twist and turn leading to a final scene and final shot I could see coming, but that doesn't change how haunting it is.  It nailed the ending in a way only the instant classics do.

The more and more I think about this film, the more I think it is one of the best of the year.  At its worst, it is engaging and intriguing.  At its best, it's as good as film gets.  Some of the best actors in the world are showing why they have that reputation, led by Bradley Cooper.  Then there's Guillermo del Toro, who once again brings to life a story with classic themes in a way only he can.

Rating: 4 stars

Watch the trailer here:

Side Effects (2013) Review

Directed by

Steven Soderbergh

Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh has been talking about retirement for years now, and aside from his HBO movie about Liberace coming up, this might actually be his swan song. As far as I am concerned, he chose an absolutely fantastic film to call it quits with.

The movie, penned by Soderbergh’s Contagion collaborator Scott Z. Burns, follows Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara), a 28 year old woman married to Martin (Channing Tatum), a businessman who is at the tail end of his four year stint in prison for insider trading. Following his release, Emily begins having anxiety issues, and following a suspicious car accident, she begins seeing a psychiatrist (Jude Law), who has a curious history of his own. After prescribing Emily with a drug suggested by her friend, she gets better before suddenly getting much worse by experiencing side effects that no one could have predicted. Then the movie officially starts, and the audience is left spellbound for the final hour of this breathtaking, brilliant thriller.

The acting in the movie is terrific on almost all accounts. Jude Law gives one of the best and most believable performances of his career. Rooney Mara is a future star, and she is able to shed the predetermined Lisbeth Salander persona almost immediately. Channing Tatum continues to impress and cause several critics/moviegoers to eat some serious crow. Catherine Zeta-Jones seems more committed to this role than she has in the 11 years since her Oscar nom. It is always great to see David Costabile. He can be a great movie character actor if he continues to kill it in shows like Breaking Bad and Suits.  Soderbergh has always pulled such unexpected things out of his actors, and this movie is really no different.

The movie hits a point about 45 minutes in that will cause the audience’s collective jaw to be on the floor and will not regain its proper position until the credits begin rolling. The screenplay is filled with cool twists (it could be argued that it has one too many), and each one of them is not telegraphed in any way. I could not get on top of the movie. It changes tones and styles on several occasions, only adding to the intrigue that the audience is swept up in. It keeps us guessing and turns into a kind of movie that we didn’t really think we were signing up for to begin with. It is a fascinating script, and it is a shame if we really aren’t going to be able to see another collab between Burns and Soderbergh.

Side Effects is definitely rooted in Hitchcock movies. There are a few moments in particular when even the subtle Thomas Newman score will sound like one of Hitch’s thrillers, but it becomes more and more apparent that this is the type of movie that Hitchcock would have made if he were working in today’s industry. So many movies try to be Hitchcock, but this movie is Hitchcockian at its very core: in its attention to detail, its quiet atmospheric intensity, and in its character arcs. There is always something a bit sinister going on, and at a certain point, you honestly have no idea what anyone will say or do next. Oh, and Jude Law would have been a perfect Hitchcock leading man. I never thought I would ever come up with a serious compliment about the actor, but his work here may have actually changed my opinion about him.

To me, it has always seemed like Soderbergh just does not give a damn what anyone thinks of him. His retirement to be a painter has certainly raised eyebrows and been the subject of a joke or two. Ocean’ Eleven seems like the last thing the filmmaker who brought us Sex, Lies, and Videotape would have taken on, let alone giving it two sequels. He throws a random no-budget wrench into his filmography every once in a while starring a pornstar, a former American Gladiator, and/or non-actors. It is almost like he has been bored for years, which is reinforced by The Informant!, which almost seems like a middle finger to conventional filmmaking. The fact that he is finishing up his career with a male stripper movie and a seemingly straightforward thriller is just about the only way I could have seen his astonishingly up-and-down 25 year career to conclude. He hit his critical peak with Out of Sight. He hit his awards peak with his best film Traffic. He hit his commercial peak with Ocean’s. He hit his quirkiness peak with Bubble. The man’s résumé is varied and commendable. I will never forget the feeling thay some of his movies left me with. Side Effects is one of those movies. It gets under your skin, and while there, it fills you with all the euphoria of a good drug. My diagnosis: see the movie immediately.

Rating: 3.5 stars