80% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 240 reviews)
Runtime: 150 minutes
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe
From:
Searchlight Pictures
This was the second of two theatrical movies I saw on Sunday evening; what a contrast between Nightmare Alley and Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Afterlife is a big-budget blockbuster that relied rather heavily on appealing to fans of the original movie, while Alley is a dark and nihilistic remake of a dark film noir classic where people being manipulated is the key plot point. Afterlife has done well at the box office while this in contrast was a money-loser. Personally, neither outcome is really a surprise to me.
As I have seen the original movie before (two months ago) it will be easy for me to compare and contrast. For the most part it is the same as the 1947 film, following the same plot points, even if a key reveal comes later in the remake. The general idea is the same: Stan Carlisle is a man in an old setting-in this case, 1939 then 1941-who joins a carnival and as he is great at reading people and pulling the wool over their eyes, that is a perfect line of work for him. He finds success with a lady he meets there, only to suffer a brutal downfall when he becomes greedy. The main changes are those that are possible now decades after the Hays Code was no longer a thing: there are some gruesome moments and Bradley Cooper was able to portray Carlisle as more a villain than Tyrone Power, Sr. was able to back in the 40's.
I've seen some note that the first half was “dull” for them, only finding life in the second half. Even if I understand that viewpoint-and believe me there's more time spent in the carnival world here than in the original-that universe is always so fascinating that I was never bored exploring all those unusual/peculiar characters. For a movie 150 minutes long, I was never bored. Naturally, the movie was well-directed and the time period was brought to life rather well; as there are some snowy scenes, those were especially lovely. It was nice seeing all those famous faces in the cast-even if some had rather small roles-although it was Cooper, Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett who shone the brightest.
It seems that those who have seen both have seen this as inferior; personally, I enjoy both about equally. Those that have seen the 1947 movie and rate it highly should give this a shot so they can decide for themselves. Those going into this blind, don't expect a tale that will warm the cockles of your heart.
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