Monday, March 07, 2022

Nightmare Alley (2021)

Nightmare Alley is a 2021 award-nominated Guillermo del Toro remake of the 1947 film by the same name. It stars Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Ron Perlman, and Mary Steenburgen. I watched it on HBO Max, and I'm glad I've seen it. I like this director and seek out his work. That said, go watch the 1947 Tyrone Power/Joan Blondell original (link to YouTube video) if not instead at least first.

trailer:



Roger Ebert's site gives it 4 stars, calling it "a movie of psychological tunnels and downward spirals" and calling it "Hypnotic with its increasingly tense slow-burning plot progression and alluring atmosphere". Rotten Tomatoes has a critics concensus score of 80%. The Guardian review gives it high praise. Rolling Stone calls it "the lushest portrait of spiritual desolation you’re ever likely to see".

16 comments:

  1. Not a fan of Mary Steenburgen. She plays all her characters so whiny

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    1. Her role is tiny. Significant, but tiny.

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  2. ...tye world seems to be filled with nightmare alleys.

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  3. This has received some wonderful reviews. I've not seen it yet and will probably wait a bit, but I think I'd enjoy it.

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  4. We have Nightmare Alley in the Ukraine just now. Vaerie

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  5. It has a great cast. Sounds like a remake that isn't horrible, which so many are.

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  6. I saw this. It was just ok for me.

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    1. I'm glad to hear that. I was thinking maybe I just expected too much.

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  7. My sincere apologies for this universal message, but my electricity has been off from about 4:25 Monday afternoon until shortly after 7:40 this morning. A transformer blew in my neighborhood. I heard the boom and felt the aftershock. It was a bitterly cold, windy night, so once my hands get warm and I get hot coffee and food in me, and I’ve had a chance to sleep (sleep was impossible in the cold), I’ll be by to visit properly. In the meantime, please accept my apology for not leaving a proper comment. This post was on my screen when the electricity went out.

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    1. Blog posts are forever ;) so you can leave a comment any time. I hope you're warm soon!

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  8. It has a good cast :)

    All the best Jan

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