The Masked Cinema 2022 - Nightmare Alley

Nightmare Alley was released late 2021 (like The Eyes of Tammy Faye, earlier this week) however it just landed in Australia recently. Which is interesting as it stars Aussie royalty Cate Blanchett & Toni Collette.

Directed by Guillermo del Toro from a screenplay by del Toro and Kim Morgan, Nightmare Alley is based on the 1946 novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham.

Along with Blanchett & Collette, Bradley Cooper as a charming and ambitious carnival worker with a mysterious past who takes big risks to boost his career. Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, and David Strathairn also star.

The film received generally positive reviews from critics, and grossed a total of $14.6 million worldwide with a $60 million production budget.

I enjoyed the style of the film, Blanchett, Collette & Cooper's performances, however the run time was a little long.

It also felt like the film was in two parts, with Blanchett & Collette each starring in a part.

The film was slightly gory towards the end but not overly so. The story of carnivals and the travelling circus has also interested me. So that part of the film sucked me in.

The showbiz side in the second half also had an early Las Vegas feel. Enjoyable but not the best film I have seen, 3 Stars.