Parents' Guide to Nightmare Alley

Guillermo Del Toro's psychological fear-fest is as lush on the outside as it is diseased on the inside, a bitter, brutal dose of dark fate. (in other words, it's the opposite of the director's last film, the lovely The Shape of Water). Based on a 1946 novel (and previously filmed in 1947), Nightmare Alley is a strikingly gorgeous, expertly constructed work that doesn't go down easy and is only recommended to those with strong constitutions. The movie's biggest flaw is its inflated running time (150 minutes), which is mainly devoted to intricate details of the con game. It's interesting stuff, but it's a very long time for viewers to sit with Stan as their main entryway; he's thoroughly repellent from top to bottom. Cooper's performance is unfailingly devoted to the story, but perhaps a smidge more of his natural charisma might have been allowed to leak through to soften the blow.

Still, the movie is filled with treasures both in construction and lighting, from the deliriousness of the carnival -- as well as Dr. Ritter's ridiculously opulent office -- to virtually every single onscreen performance. Del Toro's favorite actor Ron Perlman plays a wonderful circus strongman in just a few scenes, hanging around with "Brofo the Small" (Linden Porco), who's probably one-fifth his size. And great actors like Mary Steenburgen, Clifton Collins Jr., and Tim Blake Nelson show up in tiny parts delivering true delights. But nothing can counterbalance the story's sense of doom. Film noir was never meant to be cheery, but it was supposed to tap into a feeling of something in the air of the United States, something lost. Nightmare Alley taps directly into the jugular.