Nightmare Alley - 4K Digital Review

[Michael Scott]

Nightmare Alley

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras: :
Final Score:


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Movie
Guillermo del Toro is a master craftsman with way more hits on his list than misses, and his remake of the 1947 film of the same name is definitely a hit. Most everybody associates his name with physical body horror and monsters, but Nightmare Alley, while having some horrifically violent elements, is much more a neo noir crime thriller than anything. In fact, it’s really the tale of Icarus blended with femme fatale elements that ends with a horrifically depressing ending that suits the tale so beautifully. I personally have never seen the classic 1947 film (although now I feel like I HAVE to), so my take will be completely virginal, but I ended up very satisfied with the macabre tale of rags to riches, to rags once more.

Back in the early days of carnivals the term “geek” wasn’t a term you used about nerdy people with pocket protectors and a penchant for mathematics. Instead it was used to describe the lowest level job a carnival worker could hold. That of a person with no other skill set than to run around inside of a ring and shock people by biting the heads off of chickens. Basically the precursor to what would be known as a freak show (pay attention to this term and the meaning of it throughout the film. It’s a definite salient bit of information).

The story focuses upon one Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper), a man who is running from a murderous past and runs right into the arms of a traveling carnival. There he finds a sort of home among the freak shows, strong men, and even finds love with the beautiful Molly (Rooney Mara). However, he finds a way out of all this mess when he learns the skills of mentalism from the carnival’s psychic couple Pete (David Strathairn) and Zeena (Toni Collette). Both of them run a fantastic “seer” show and Stan soon picks up the knack for being able to scam people with a mentalist routine (much like many “seers” that popped up during the 1990s). After learning all that he could, he runs away with Molly from the mess that is the carnival and finds himself right in the lap of luxury playing the same mentalist con game for New York City socialites.

He’s got it all. The girl, the wealth, the prestige, but Stan has let himself get a bit too big for his britches. Molly is now a second class citizen as Stan has almost become to believe that he IS the psychic that he lets others perceive him as. But his climb to the top takes an incredible tumble when he meets a psychologist by the name of Dr. Ritter (Cate Blanchett). The two both know he’s a scammer, but he’s so good that Dr. Ritter pulls Stan into a game of her own. A game where she gives him inside knowledge of her rich patients who spill their guts, and he uses that to con their way into their lives with his mentalist routine, and out of their fortune. However, there is more at work than a simple con game, and soon Stan finds that when you fly to close to the sun, you run the risk of losing yourself in your own game.

Del Toro does an incredible job with the ensemble cast (seriously, there’s everybody who’s ever worked for him in the films. I counted at least 15 well known actors playing major to bit parts) and the neo noir veneer of the story is a fantastic change of pace for the atmospheric director. The movie is best described as Icarus meets a femme fatale, and that alone is the major thematic element of the story. The film is much more depressing than the Powers Booth 1947 flick by all accounts, but Del Toro makes the 1946 novel (also of the same name) all his own. It’s moody, atmospheric, and leads straight back to the beginning with an ending that leaves you sick to your stomach with the depressing finality of it all.

There’s a sort of raw, tawdry appeal to much of the movie, watching as Stan revels in the depravity of it all. At first he’s this semi idealistic man who’s running from his past, only to become the very thing he hates, and becomes so bad that he ends up falling to the point of the lowest “geek” of the carnival by the very end. It’s all very prophetic and plays like a Greek tragedy, something which I’m pretty sure that del Toro was aiming for. Bradley is great as the over confident Stan, but it's really Cate Blanchett that knocks it out of the park as the detached and cold Dr. Lilith Ritter. She's a perfect ice queen, and her unhinged performance at the end is nothing short of electrifying.




Rating:

Rated R for strong/bloody violence, some sexual content, nudity and language




Video:

Like usual, being that this is a digital stream whose quality can vary depending on your bitrate, I'll forego giving a locked in stone score for it. However, I will say that it looks incredible in 4K for this particular streamer. On my Sony X950H it was jaw dropping. del Toro has given the film a very heavy aesthtic, with deep blues for outdoor shots, and that sort of sandy, amber lit glow of a Neo Noir. While it isn't black and white, the film maintains many of the same aesthetic elements of said older black and white films. Blacks are a major portion of the imagery, and the Dolby Vision makes for some DEEP and inky blacks. I noticed some banding of course (streams usually have some due to the compression) but claity is generally amazing. The only aesthetic choices that affect clarity and sharpness is the slighty hazy and dreamlike look to the noir styled film. Something which is to be expected, but ocassionally creates some softer looking shots (such as in Dr. Ritter's office). All around a great looking image






Audio:

Same as the video, due to the streaming nature of a digital film review, I will not be giving a locked in stone X/5 rating on the Atmos track. The track is quite impressive though, with an incredibly immersive feel to it, just as heavy and thick as the video's stylization. The Dolby ATmos track is very hypnotic and almost surreal in nature. Light horns and operatic elements weave throughout the mix, and there is some incredible pin point precise use of the surrounds and overheads for discrete sounds in the carnival or on stage for Stan's act.The Atmos channels get a solid amount of engagement such as when Stan witnesses the geek, or simply with musical scores. Bass is impressive, but never OVERLY impressive (something I've always noticed about Atmos streams) and overall it's a solid listening experience.







Extras:

• Beneath the Tarp
• Theatrical Trailer
• Del Toro's Neo-Noir
• What Exists in the Fringe

Final Score: ​

While Nightmare Alley is GOOD, it’s not as legendary as say Pan’s Labyrinth, nor as publicly accessible as Pacific Rim. I’d put it right around the same level as Crimson Peak in terms of quality. A good neo noir crime thriller with some very distinctive del Toro quirks to it. The stream itself looks and sounds great, leaving to crave what a 4K physical disc could achieve. Definitely worth checking out.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, TOni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mare, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Written by: Guillermo del Toro, Kim MOrgan, William Lindsay Gresham (based on the novel by)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos
Subtitles:
Studio: Disney/Buena Vista
Rated: R
Runtime: 150 Minutes
Digital Release Date: is now available on Digital and will be released on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD March 22

Recommendation: Good Watch

 

[Asere]

I started watching it on HBOMAX and still need an hour to go. So far for me it is slow. Hopefully the ending can make up for all the slow pace and gets to the point. Thanks for the review.

 

[Asere]

Finished watching it last night after the Oscars (Will and Chris made the ratings go through the roof with the drama I am sure). The film was really good and really liked the twist and ending. Great performances for sure.