Nightmare Alley Turns Old Into Brand New
Guillermo Del Toro doesn’t pull punches in his remake of the psychological suspense classic.
Guillermo Del Toro’s remake of Nightmare Alley(1947) stays true to the original while updating the look and ending. The scenery, characters, and even camera technique make direct callbacks to old noir films in every shot, while modern pacing and technology bring the movie into the present. The influences make the film somewhat predictable, but it commits to the punches the original held back.
Director of photography Dan Lausten and Del Toro have collaborated enough on films like Crimson Peak and The Shape of Water that it’s no surprise how vibrant the scenery is. Every location is saturated with contrasts of light and shadow, and filled with objects that reflect the personalities of the characters inhabiting them. The carnival ringmaster Clem(Willem Dafoe) is surrounded with a freakshow of his own collection, and the femme fatale Lilith’s(Cate Blanchett) office covers the sleek and expensive décor in dark shadows. In classic noir fashion every setting has clouds of fog, moody rainfall, and are always set at night. Even the cinematography features multiple iris shots that callback to the silent film era.
The drawback is how obvious the story becomes. Even without seeing the original, anyone with passing knowledge of noir film patterns would know where the story is going. While this makes the plot predictable, an argument could be made that it enhances the message of the film.
Nightmare Alley at its core has always been about the cycle of abuse and addiction that can come from pride. Despite knowing his own weaknesses, the lead Stanton Carlisle(Bradley Cooper) still falls to his own darkness even with every warning given to him. If you pay attention, every character will foreshadow their own fate, but this doesn’t stop them from meeting it. Del Toro foregoes the bittersweet ending of the original; and shows us that nightmares are truly of our own making.