The Michigan Daily

by Zach Loveall
March 24, 2022

‘Nightmare Alley’ is this

year’s most underrated
Oscar nominee

This image is from the trailer for “Nightmare Alley,” distributed by Searchlight
Pictures.

Guillermo del Toro (“The Shape of Water”) is often called one of

the best directors of our time, and “Nightmare Alley” just adds to his
long list of artfully-created movies — it’s nominated in four categories
at the Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film seems to
have mostly flown under the radar, not garnering any major attention
even with its star-filled cast. I put it at the top of my list for the best
films of 2022, which was met with many confused reactions; it seems
like the majority of people have barely heard of it, much less gone out
and watched it.

The movie follows Stanton “Stan” Carlisle (Bradley Cooper, “A Star is

Born”), starting with his arrival at a carnival, looking for work. While
working as a carnie he meets and falls in love with fellow performer
Molly (Rooney Mara, “Her”) and learns the skills necessary for the two
of them to leave for New York, where he performs a mentalist act for
the wealthy elite of the city with her help. In New York, they meet Dr.
Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett, “Don’t Look Up”), a high-class
psychologist who decides to collude with Stan in order to scam her
rich clients. 

To fans of “Nightmare Alley,” Bradley Cooper not getting a nomination

for his leading role as Stan is the ultimate snub. The movie is
ultimately about how Stan’s greed and past sins cause him to dig
himself deeper into trouble. Cooper really comes to embody Stan’s
tragic and corrupt aura, to the point where I was becoming physically
uncomfortable in my seat. I wanted to reach out and yell at Stan until
he stopped making terrible decisions. This culminates in an ending
where — without giving away too much — Stan is pushed to his limits
and Cooper gives one of the best performances of the year. Passing
Cooper over for Best Actor at the Academy Awards was a major stain
on the category, especially given the film’s Best Picture nomination.

The acting in this movie is built up by the supporting cast: Toni

Collette (“Knives Out”), Richard Jenkins (“The Shape of Water”) and
David Strathairn (“Nomadland”) are only a few of the many
supporting actors and actresses. Their characters each play a key role
in Stan’s life, acting as pieces to a puzzle that is continuously being
solved throughout the movie. They are what brought me back for a
second viewing of the film. The first time watching the movie, you are
focused on every step Stan takes further from safety — but on the
second viewing, you notice how every single supporting character
contributes to his journey, whether it be an unheeded warning to him
not to go too far, or actions serving as the catalyst for his rise to
wealth.

Perhaps the most subtle performance in the film comes from

Blanchett. She plays a mysterious and enigmatic character who agrees
to help Stan shortly after being publicly humiliated by him. Blanchett’s
performance adds layers to her character that are slowly revealed
throughout the film, culminating in a twist that, although obvious to
the audience, shocks Stan to his core. Without revealing too much, as
watching Blanchett unravel her complexities on screen is half the fun,
she delivers one of the most attention-grabbing displays in the film.
On top of all of these great performances, you have Willem Dafoe
(“Spider-Man: No Way Home”). He needs no introduction but
deserves one. In the past I have called him a national treasure and this
movie does nothing but reaffirm that belief. Dafoe plays Clem, a fellow
carnival worker who keeps an insane man prisoner, pushing him to
the brink of death in order to be shown off as his main attraction. He
is the movie’s first introduction to moral decrepitude and shows the
uncomplicated lack of empathy that is often behind someone’s
corruption. Dafoe elevates the role with everything from his maniacal
laugh to his casual absence of empathy. He cannot help but steal the
show — as with everything else he is in — by giving the audience an
early idea on how Stan will turn out, while still leaving enough
ambiguity for the drama to stay compelling.

While it’s disappointing that the individual actresses and actors who
made this movie great didn’t receive any nominations, the film truly
does deserve all the nominations it did receive. It is a star-studded
movie full of outstanding performances, while also paying homage to
the old film-noirs that inspired it. One of this year’s best movies, it has
only gotten a small amount of the credit it deserves; the film was
beaten out at both the BAFTAS and the SAG awards, two award
ceremonies that are often good indicators of Academy Award-winning
potential. However, awards are certainly not the end-all, be-all of what
determines if a movie is good or not, and “Nightmare Alley” proves
that a truly fantastic film can easily go unnoticed.