Nightmare Alley

A noir about the dark of heart, this is hugely accomplished filmmaking whether in black and white or colour.

  • Director

    Guillermo del Toro

  • With

    Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Rooney Mara

  • USA-Mexico-Canada 2021. 150min

  • Digital

  • Certificate

    15

The 1947 version of Nightmare Alley was one of the most perverse noirs of that era. This more faithful – and fatalistic – adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s novel sees Bradley Cooper excel as a small-time carny whose unctuous charm propels him to fame as a charlatan spiritualist. However, his unchecked ambition attracts the attention of Cate Blanchett’s psychotherapist, who seals his fate. Dan Lausten’s rich cinematography captures the atmosphere of this world, which is even more effective in the subsequently released black-and-white version, which also screens.

See a screening of Nightmare Alley: Vision in Darkness and Light (Black & White version) on Saturday 23 May.