Nightmare Alley (2021)

I had already heard of a 1947 film noir of the same title. This Guillermo del Toro project isn't a remake so much as a second adaptation of the novel. Alas, the original is more highly rated across sites yet much harder to find. Anyway, this is the only version that was nominated for Best Picture.

In 1939, shortly after covering up a murder, Stan (Bradley Cooper) finds work that will have no one inquiring into his background: a traveling carnival's barker. There he learns how to fake being a psychic, and he and stunt-performing girlfriend Molly (Rooney Mara) eventually leave for a classier venue. He then takes an unfaithful interest in a distinguished audience member, psychologist Lilith (Cate Blanchett), and asks her for confidential information that can help him fool a rich, widowed, somewhat unhinged ex-client of hers, Ezra (Richard Jenkins). Stan does not care about Molly's discomfort with his endeavors, nor does he heed the warning of his mentors (Toni Collette and David Strathairn) that moving from mind reading to seances is dangerous -- or Lilith's warning that Ezra is.

Apart from the opening corpse disposal, this 150-minute movie takes more than an hour to feel anything like a thriller. After all, Stan doesn't exactly plan to make a habit of murder. Yes, the carnival boss (Willem Dafoe) is gruesomely crooked, particularly in his treatment of "geeks" in the old sense, and the strong man (Ron Perlman, of course) is overprotective of Molly. But it's quite a while before we sense a threat of lethal violence. A slow first act may be the biggest weakness herein.

That said, it does have enough noir trappings, starting with the scarcity of innocent major characters. Stan does get impressive in his Sherlock scans, especially considering how dopey he seemed before, but it's hard to know whether to root for him at pretty much anything. Furthermore, Lilith has more than a name to point to her classic femme fatale nature. Her looks, voice, and mannerisms remind me of Kathleen Turner as Matty Walker in Body Heat, herself a tribute to many old examples. From her first scene, Lilith is clearly engaged in a power play with Stan. For him, that's practically flirting, and while he has no intention of staying with her, he would like to mix closeness with competition.

The colors on screen are limited. Not as much as in my previous viewing, just a bit on the yellow-brown side. You could take that as symbolic of the agedness of sepia, the tarnishing of purity, or fool's gold.

The R rating is partly for gore, which does get a bit shocking on its rare occasions. There is also some stronger swearing than we tend to associate with the era.

If the plot weren't stretched thin, I'd be inclined to agree with NA's Oscar nods. As it is, I hope to see the '47 adaptation or even read the book someday. Both are supposed to be different in significant ways.