- Nightmare Alley – Movie Review
- Nightmare Alley Review
- Nightmare Alley reviewed by Mark Kermode
- NIGHTMARE ALLEY Ending Explained!
- “It Messed Me Up A Bit” – Bradley Cooper On Getting Into Character For “Nightmare Alley”
- Nightmare Alley – Movie Review
- Nightmare Alley | Moral Of The Story (Film Analysis)
Nightmare Alley – Movie Review
foreign,[Music],is directed by Guillermo del Toro and,stars Bradley Cooper Rooney Mara Kate,Blanchette Willem Dafoe Tony Collette,Richard Jenkins incredible cast and it,follows an ambitious Kearney with a,talent for manipulating people with a,few well-chosen words who hooks up with,a female psychiatrist who is even more,dangerous than he is Im a massive fan,of del Toros films but also of him as a,person hes one of my favorite people to,listen to in interviews I love listening,to his advice on Direction and I also,just have so much respect for his story,of how hes tried to get through,Hollywood hes had so many ideas that,have never come to fruition despite,winning best picture and making so many,great films he still has trouble getting,financing and the fact that he keeps,plowing forward trying to get some of,these movies done is really inspiring to,me so of course every time he makes a,movie I want to see it just like all of,his films nightmare alley is a beautiful,looking movie the production design is,absolutely Immaculate Del Toro is,extremely meticulous when it comes to,the sets and the look of everything,shots sometimes linger longer than most,directors might just to show off how,beautiful everything looks and when you,are in a circus with so many wonderfully,constructed sets and costumes you might,as well let that shot hang around for a,while each and every performer in the,movie is fantastic this is the best Ive,seen Bradley Cooper in a long time he,gives a really strong performance here,Kate Blanchette as well amazing and I,especially loved Willem Dafoe who plays,a man who will go to Great Lengths very,depraved lengths to entertain people he,will snatch people off the streets and,turn them into a show for people and,its quite disturbing and he does a,great job in the movie I like to imagine,that if his character from The,Lighthouse existed in a slightly,different time that this might have been,what he was doing the film is admittedly,very long its about 2 hours 20 minutes,and it spans a very epic period of time,it feels that way anyway you have him,learning about being a carnival worker,you have him understanding magic but,its not really magic its actually just,whats called mentalism you are,essentially getting into someones head,and guessing things about them just,based off of the way theyre dressed or,the way they carry themselves and as he,slowly becomes an expert at doing this,he starts to find himself going down a,darker path and thats where the film,gets very interesting theres a section,in the middle of the movie thats just,not quite as entertaining as the first,and the third acts some of that is,because a large part of this movie is,about a romance that blossoms between,Bradley Coopers character and Rudy,Maras character but Maras character is,very much so kept at arms length and,you dont know too much about her at all,its a very classical old-fashioned,movie romance when two beautiful looking,people sweep each other off their feet,and they fall in love you dont really,know why they just theyre in love now,and you just kind of have to accept it,and that made a part of the movie A,Little Less investing I feel like if you,have known more about them as people,especially Rooney Maras character that,that portion of the movie would have,been more entertaining but as soon as he,starts to make sure choices that affect,other peoples lives and tries to find,ways to heal people who have lost loved,ones even though hes a fraud thats,where the film picks up considerably and,gets very dark and entertaining honestly,what I love most about nightmare alley,is that it exists its an expensive,adult-oriented rated R drama that takes,place in the carnival world and these,types of movies just rarely get made,anymore you need someone like Guillermo,del Toro out there pushing for a film,like this to exist and I want it to be,successful do I think its del Toros,best movie no I dont but I do think,its a pretty good one and I think that,its filled with great performances and,it has one of my favorite endings that,del Toros ever had in one of his movies,I think the ending does a lot for the,movie and kind of recontextualizes a few,things and makes you look back on some,things and see how the seeds were kind,of planted for what takes place and I,absolutely adored the ending its very,cathartic so if you get a chance to see,nightmare alley I would suggest it its,a long movie it does have some parts,that dont play as well as others but I,think a film like this should be,supported so check it out when it comes,near you guys thank you so much as,always for watching look forward to more,videos very soon if you like this you,can click right here and get stuck,benized,[Music]
Nightmare Alley Review
forgotten by this same lusting threat,that got us all walking on this earth,but gone wrong somehow in maternal,wounds,how does a horror maestro and king of,the macabre shift from a long time,supernatural stint to a film solely,rooted in reality pretty damn easily it,turns out guillermo del toros nightmare,alley his first film since his academy,award winning the shape of water,delivers as a mini neo-noir even if his,usual spectacle isnt as present as some,may expect,bradley cooper plays stan a silver,tongued carny who craves the better,things in life he works his way up from,the wreckage of his childhood home to,the freak show where he meets his,beloved molly and eventually to the big,city where hell cross paths with the,scintillating doctor lilith ritter but,as stan grows so does his hubris stance,got a down pat though you see armed with,a sweet innocent farm boy routine and a,mouthful of straight teeth he easily,works his way through anyone who can get,him a leg up but as nightmare alley,would call out several times stans got,pieces missing and nobody he tries to,use to fill the void quite meets his,needs cooper works through his,characters troubles with ease as he,effortlessly switches between sinister,and sincere but its rooney mara and,kate blanchette who shine the brightest,as the films leading ladies though her,screen time is shorter than her,counterparts tony collettes xena earns,an honorable mention among the,impeccable ensemble 2. it seems classic,hollywood homages are in this here like,steven spielbergs west side story,betcha never thought that would be a,comparison that would crop up here,nightmare alley shows off several,vintage artistic tricks transitions make,use of creeping black fade frames while,liliths office aesthetic crept right,out of an old movie while i cant say,that nightmare alley doesnt earn its,run time at 2 hours and 20 minutes it,does struggle from a bit of an imbalance,the first act is the best and brightest,by far narratively the sparkle of new,york seems dull against the gritty human,backdrop of stan and mollys roots still,its themes are where nightmare alley,truly shines del toro challenged himself,with making something rooted in reality,and its impossible to question his,execution the film delivers,jaw-droppingly brutal punishments while,delightfully humming the old adage that,nice is different than good death is,present here but its not the key player,this is about comeuppance and suffering,not to be morbid but that suffering is,delicious its palpable and so well,earned that its hard to leave the film,unsatisfied if you thought the macabre,would be set aside along with the,supernatural worry not not only does,nightmare alley deliver on the,gruesomeness youve come to expect from,del toro its presence is rooted heavily,in one of the films key themes the,brutality of man both in passivity and,direct action is on sharp display,throughout casual quiet murder meets,savage violence all of which is,presented in a full practical buffet,despite some story struggles along the,way the final act of nightmare alley is,a triumph all of the films quiet,barbarism is met by the kind of,punishment that death could only hope to,be the final moments of the,protagonists despair are so well earned,that its difficult not to leave the,theater without at least a little bit of,a grin on your face,while different from guillermo del,toros typical supernatural and sci-fi,tales nightmare alley stays firmly,rooted in the reality the brutality of,man is on stark display here but its no,match for the films femme fatale and,its kindly lead though its slow in,parts and suffers from a bit of an,imbalance from act to act the finale,delivers a come up its worthy of the,history books for more check out what we,thought about west side story and,resident evil welcome to raccoon city,and for everything else stick with ign,if you displease the right people the,world closes in on you very very fast
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Nightmare Alley reviewed by Mark Kermode
yeah i love it um,and there are a number of reasons i mean,obviously as everyone knows im a huge,guillermo del toro fan and i know that,one of the things im often accused of,is oh you love the things by the,directors you love,but the directors i love i love because,i love the things by them so its a kind,of you know which came first and and,also you can be disappointed yeah of,course no absolutely um in the case of,this so as you quite rightly say theres,a novel 46 film 47 sort of you know film,noir and this has one solid foot in the,genre of film noir just in case it,didnt come through clearly youve,missed the interview so the plot is,essentially,that bradley cooper is stanton carlisle,who we meet torching the home talking,the family home then joins a traveling,carnival where the first thing that,happens is he is,entranced by and revolted by the specter,of the geek,who is a character who is described as,barely human is he even human this kind,of this character who is at the kind of,depth of human,degradation and hes being rolled out by,willem dafoe as a carnival act and we,learn that the way in which geeks are,formed is that its a result its its a,you know a carnival thing about getting,people who are stricken by poverty and,addiction and you know theres a lesson,about how you turn somebody into that,level of degradation meanwhile he,becomes in uh fascinated by the specter,of mentalism and mind reading and he,learns from,zina the sierra the seer and her partner,a coded system and he realizes because,he is a natural born con man i mean yes,innocent to some extent but hes a,natural-born con man,he realizes huckster i think is the word,you used that he can do this,so the first half of the movie takes,place within the confines of the,carnival and the second half of the,movie then moves to the cities two years,later where hes doing this act as,master stanton the great stanton in,which he is doing a very sort of posh,show in which he mind reads he is,challenged by cate blanchetts character,who is a psychoanalyst who thinks that,what hes doing is all hui but he kind,of,manages to get away with it,and as a result of this he is then,effectively offered the chance to sell,his soul,and being the person that he is,he jumps at the chance thats all you,need to know about the plot,guillermo described the plot as a ramp i,think it was a lovely description about,the thing about ive got a brilliant,crane shot ive got a fantastic shot but,im going to take it away because it,looks too showy and because the whole,thing has to build to this very i mean,guillermo you could almost feel,guillermo wanting to talk about the end,and well done to you incidentally for,saying which we wont talk about,he wanted to tell us about it but the,reason he does is because,the there is a kind of greek tragedy,level to the way the story works which,is,it is inevitable it goes to where it is,inevitably going because it is a story,about somebody haunting themself it is a,story about somebody is trying to escape,from themselves but actually the thing,theyre on the run from is the thing,they cant run from,and so as a sort of existential story i,i love it and i love the fact that he,read the book first and then saw the,film and thought okay theres another,film to be made out of this,the other so its very dark and its,very bleak and it has that very sort of,you know film noir,attitude to,human nature which is fairly dyspeptic,and things are you know out of whack and,everythings dark and shadowy,but also there is a huge joy in it,because,what guillermo is is a a lover of cinema,and so he wants to take you into this,world and this is always the thing with,guillermos films is that they take you,into a world whether its the world of,hellboy which is a world of kind of you,know strange,supernatural superheroes to some extent,or whether its the world of the devils,backbone in which you absolutely believe,that you are in that orphanage or,whether its the world of pans,labyrinth in which the whole point is,everything that happens above,spanish civil war you know all that,stuff and everything that happens below,pans labyrinth or the labyrinth of the,fallen as it should probably be called,because its not pan obviously,theyre equally,real,and that thing about world building,is the thing that he does brilliantly,and part of me feels like,that question about,if he got the right to do this around,the time of kronos he wouldnt have had,the facilities to make the film that,hes made now because hes making this,having made shape of water which is a,huge you know massive success and oscar,winning so he has the resources to make,the film he wants to make it was a,lovely phrase he used its 100 million,movie made for 60 billion,but it looks fantastic i mean you know,the way in which its its designed is,is really sort of easy on the eye,because its so it draws you right in,its tamara deveraux is a production,designer it has a fantastic score by,nathan johnson who incidentally stepped,into the role very late in the day,because origin the original composer was,separated from guillermo as a result of,of uh kovit so they needed to be in the,room i mean you could tell with with,guillermo you know you were doing that,thing by long distance but what you,really want with him to be to get your,fingers into the you know to be in the,in in the room with him so i love the,way it works as a piece of cinema,and i love the fact that it is,it is as,bleak,and as,you know forthright in following that,narrative through as it is without ever,being a depressing film,well talk about this i think a little,bit later on when were talking to jason,about his film because again its that,thing about dark subject matter but does,that necessarily mean that the film is,you know something you have to suffer,through nightmare alley is,its really enjoyable but its really,dark and its in a really kind of,deliciously,um,uh uncompromising way bradley cooper is,great i mean i you know you got bradley,cooper long before i did you interviewed,bradley cooper quite early on when hed,made,some fairly disposable film and you were,very taken by him i know i like him,and he is one its a particular gift,some people hes effortlessly charming,yeah effortlessly charming but also,there are places in this film in which,he has to be other than charming in,which he has to yeah yeah and,and then some and then some and he,doesnt in exactly the same way that in,that performance that he gives in,licorice pizza in which hes playing,john peters in which hes completely out,there,you do see that progression from,effortlessly charming to utterly not in,that world,and the other thing i like about the,film is,its,its a its a razor sharp balancing act,between on the one hand a fantastical,world the carnival i mean its it this,owes a lot to todd brownings freaks,you know its that similar sense of the,carnivalesque world in which actually,there is a real comrade ship and this,interloper comes into it but its a kind,of fantastical world that exists within,its own preserved bubble and yet it also,has that kind of neo-realist feet on the,ground you do believe in these,characters you do believe this stuff,even when the sets are even when we get,into the city in which you dont see the,sky and you dont see the outside and,its all to do with the you know the,angular construction of cate blanchetts,room and the bit with the tape recorder,that comes out that looks like something,out of thunderbirds rather than stingray,and and its always snowing and its,always snowing and i mean i,i just i loved it i thought it was just,terrific did you think it might it was a,little bit too long no,i didnt think it was a little bit i,didnt there was a theres a,the only,time i allowed,quietly i mean this is preposterous,really slightly annoyed,there was uh when i was a kid i loved,magic and i loved yes mind reading and,mentalism mentalism and the the routine,that they do,i had learned i could do that no i did,
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NIGHTMARE ALLEY Ending Explained!
well nothing says christmas like a movie,involving nightmares capitalist greed,and carnies connies yes its guillermo,del toros latest feature and at least,this one doesnt involve having sex with,a fish nightmare alley is a neo-noir,based on the 1946 novel of the same name,by william lindsey gresham and in this,video well be taking a look at its,ending its deeper meaning and proving,once and for all that bradley cooper can,play more than just a raccoon,and for those of you who arent familiar,with some of my videos on films just,released in theaters i can only use,footage from the trailers and tv spots,so bear with me nightmare alley begins,rather cryptically with our protagonist,stanton carlisle dragging a dead body,across the floor of this rural farmstead,the nightmares of nightmare alley stem,from this event throughout the film,well get more and more clues as to what,actually transpired here eventually,culminating in the revelation that,stanton killed his own father an,alcoholic who he blamed for his mothers,abandonment he takes with him two,important items i want you to remember a,wristwatch which is father coveted and,an old radio he could probably sell for,cash with nowhere to go stanton joins a,nearby traveling circus eventually,befriending a psychic xena the seer and,an alcoholic mentalist named pete here,he learns the ropes of their psychic,scam and hones his own skills of,showmanship but stanton has dreams,bigger than that of the big top he wants,to be his own showman entertaining the,elite in high society he learns that,pete has a secret book which contains,all the secrets to his tricks including,acts that he and xena deem morally,reprehensible they call this a spook,show in which a mark is conned into,believing a loved one is speaking to,them from beyond the grave but as well,see with stanton he has no moral line,all he cares about is money status and,prestige and hell go to extreme lengths,to make anyone believe what they want to,believe especially if theres heaps of,cash involved he ends up poisoning pete,and gets away with it with others,believing this alcoholic just drank too,much this allows stanton to swipe his,book of tricks but on a more,subconscious level hes taking out,another drunk a drunk who harmed a woman,he loved xena tells stanton that pete,breaks her heart hes drinking too much,thus she suffers like stantons mother,who also experienced firsthand the harm,of an alcoholic lover for this reason,stanton doesnt drink its a point of,pride for him but by the end of the film,hell become a full-blown alcoholic one,night the carnivals geek escapes back,in the 40s when this story takes place,carnival geek shows consisted of a,circular ring where a performer would,bite the head off of a live chicken and,swallow it these were mainly alcoholics,or drug addicts paid in liquor and,narcotics stanton ends up finding this,geek in the carnivals aptly named house,of damnation a house with mirrors that,are captioned take a look at yourself,sinner all of this foreshadows stantons,continual descent into damnation himself,he ends up beating the geek close to,death which becomes hauntingly ironic,since thats who hell become at the end,of the film a damned alcoholic beast of,a man who has to resort to biting the,heads off chickens to survive is he man,or beast at the same time stanton is,brought under the wing of ringmaster,clem clem tells him how he drugs drunks,in order to turn them into subservient,geeks the two of them will later have to,drop off their geek at a local hospital,where you can see the jesus saves neon,sign and i cant help but think that it,looks rather like save us but maybe,thats just me we also see his,collection of pickled fetuses of both,the human and animal variety a,particular note is this one which clem,states as a child whose head was so,large the mother died during birth,notice the protruding eye near the top,which conjures images of stantons,blindfold while performing in the big,city during his time at the carnival,stanton falls in love with a carney,named molly her stage name is elektra,and she performs a routine where,currents of electricity pass through her,body to win her over he designs a new,routine where theyd fake her death,using an electrocution chair of his,design and they say chivalry is dead as,the two perfect the routine we see just,how good stanton is at reading others,when a local police officer threatens to,shut down the entire show stanton is,able to talk the sheriff into letting,them continue when he uses his excellent,powers of deduction to cold read that,the sheriffs mother had passed and that,she is talking to him from beyond we can,really see that stantons character is a,liar and a damned good one at that so,when he leaves the carnival and promises,molly the world if she comes along with,him it doesnt take too long to realize,hes lying to her too two years pass and,stanton and molly have their own show in,the big city stanton has finally got,what hes wanted but for him itll never,be enough he wants to take his show to,the next level and this involves doing,what xena and pete warned him never to,do hell trick some of the citys,richest citizens into believing their,loved ones are talking to them from,beyond the grave in order to amass even,more wealth of course molly is against,this but like every warning stanton,receives he ignores this leads him to dr,lilith ritter a psychologist who attends,many of his shows believing hes a con,man the two eventually team up in a,rather ingenious plot dr ritter happens,to be a therapist to some of the richest,and most influential men in the city and,through her recorded sessions she has a,ton of personal information that stanton,can exploit for example he finds out,that mrs kimball the wife of a prominent,judge yearns to know more about the,death of their son who died in the,trenches during world war 1. knowing,this stanton tells her that her son,loves her that his death was quick and,that one day theyll be reunited but,things get dangerous when stanton is,asked to do a session with unhinged,businessman ezra grindel hes wanting to,be put in touch with a long lost love,and has been burned in the past by other,con men hence why he has stan connected,to a polygraph stanton beats the,polygraph and gains ezras trust and you,might be asking herself how did he do it,how did he beat the polygraph the simple,answer is that stanton actually believes,in his own lies thats how far down the,rabbit hole hes gone earlier in the,film theres a scene between stanton and,pete in which pete uses the term shuddai,referring to when a man has lied so much,that he ends up believing his own lies,and when those lies end you see the face,of god and no one can outrun god but,stanton is full of hubris when zena,gives him a bad tarot reading he simply,turns one of the cards right side up,this is symbolized through the hangman,card which when facing upward represents,wisdom but upside down selfishness,pretty fitting for our main character,ezra wants something stanton has never,done before to make the dead materialize,before his very eyes and stanton always,dreaming of bigger ways to con those,around him creates a plan to have molly,dress up as ezras long-lost love a,woman who died during a botched abortion,one which ezra made her get later in the,film he confides in stanton that he had,been violent to many women in the past,but claims this woman was the one he,truly loved dr lilith says shell take,no part in this plan she has a great,line where she says if his foot slips,both of them fall even she sees that,hes in too deep but stanton creates a,fake key to later break in and steal dr,lillis information about ezra he will do,anything to get what he wants before the,big con stanton takes a glass of alcohol,from dr lilith and chugs it symbolic of,him changing into the man he so long,hated he used to wretch at the smell of,alcohol but now hes downing a glass in,one go meanwhile molly has found,stant
“It Messed Me Up A Bit” – Bradley Cooper On Getting Into Character For “Nightmare Alley”
WELCOME BACK TO “THE LATE SHOW.” HAPPY TO HAVE YOU.,LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MY GUEST TONIGHT IS AN AWARD -WINNING,WRITER, DIRECTOR, AND ACTOR YOU KNOW FROM, “SILVER LININGS,PLAYBOOK,” “AMERICAN SNIPER,” AND “A STAR IS BORN.”,YOU CAN CURRENTLY SEE HIM IN “LICORICE PIZZA” AND “NIGHTMARE,ALLEY.” PLEASE WELCOME BACK TO “THE LATE,SHOW,” BRADLEY COOPER. ♪ ♪ ♪, ( APPLAUSE ) ♪ ♪ ♪, ( APPLAUSE ) ♪ ♪ ♪,♪ ♪ ♪ ( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ),♪ ♪ ♪ ( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ),THE SAME THING! >> OUT OF THE HOUSE!,>> Stephen: BRADLEY COOPER, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING,HERE. SIR, SIR, HAVE YOU BEEN IN FRONT,OF A LIVE AUDIENCE? >> NO, CAN YOU TELL HOW EXCITED,I AM? >> Stephen: ITS DIFFERENT,,ISNT IT? ITS REALLY NICE.,>> HELLO! ( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ),ITS AMAZING. >> Stephen: ITS LOVELY.,>> COME ON! >> Stephen: NICE TO– NICE TO,SEE YOU AGAIN. HAD A REALLY NICE TIME TALKING,ABOUT YOU ABOUT “A STAR IS BORN.”,IM A MASSIVE FAN AS YOU KNOW. BUT I WANT TO GET TO “NIGHTMARE,ALLEY” AND “LICORICE PIZZA.” YOURE A BUSY MAN–,>> HOW OUT OF BREATH ARE WE? >> Stephen: ALARMINGLY.,HOW WERE YOUR HOLIDAYS? I KNOW– I KNOW YOU HAVE A YOUNG,CHILD. YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER.,>> WHO IS HERE. >> Stephen: SHES HERE NOW?,>> Stephen: BACK STAGE. >> Stephen: OLD ENOUGH FOR,CHRISTMAS? >> OH, YEAH.,>> Stephen: OLD ENOUGH FOR CHRISTMAS BUT YOUNG ENOUGH ITS,LIKE EVERYTHING. >> WE DO THIS THING BABY TO,BABY, WHERE YOU CAN BE SANTAS HELPER, AND YOU CAN FIND FOUR,KIDS OR THREE KID AND MAKE PRESENTS AND HELP SANTA DELIVER,THEM. IM GOING TO BE OUT OF BREATH,THE WHOLE INTERVIEW. PEOPLE WILL COME IN HALFWAY,THROUGH LIKE, “WHATS WRONG WITH THIS GUY?”,>> Stephen: VERY FEW GUESTS NEED SUPPLEMENTAL OXYGEN TO GET,THROUGH. ITS LIKE WERE MOUNTING K2,RIGHT NOW. THATS REALLY LOVELY.,SO YOU GUYS PUT TOGETHER TOYS TO GIVE TO OTHER CHILDREN.,>> OTHER CHILDREN, YES. >> Stephen: THATS LOVELY.,>> AND, ALSO, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE KIDS, THEY REALLY–,THEY REALLY PUSH THAT GHOST BUSTERS LASER ON EVERY,COMMERCIAL IN BETWEEN CARTOONS, SO SHE WANTED THAT.,>> Stephen: THE BACKPACK, THE THING WHERE YOU CAPTURE THE,GOFTZ. SHE GOT THAT?,>> SHE GOT THAT. >> Stephen: NICE, NICE.,>> SHES LIKE WHERES THE LASER. ITS A PLASTIC THING.,I HAVE SOME NOTE. SHE WANTED THE REAL THING.,>> Stephen: I THOUGHT YOU WERE A BIG STAR, DAD.,>> COULDNT DELIVER. >> Stephen: COULDNT EVEN GET,ME PAUL RUDD. AS I WAS SAYING TO JON IN THE,LAST ACT, I WATCHED “NIGHTMARE ALLEY” LAST NIGHT.,>> THANK YOU FOR WATCHING THAT. >> Stephen: AND IT IS– I,WATCH EVERY MOVIE. >> OF COURSE YOU DO.,>> Stephen: I WATCH EVERY MOVIE.,ITS AN ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT FILM.,AND ITS THIS PERFECTLY EXECUTED NOIRWHICH, AS I WAS SAYING TO,JON, IS KIND OF AN ABUSED FORM THESE DAYS.,I THINK ITS THE GREATEST MODERN NOIR FILM.,AND IM JUST CURIOUS, THIS IS THE– I UNDERSTAND YOU SIGNED UP,FOR THIS RIGHT OUT OF “A STAR IS BORN.”,>> UH, KIND OF. ACTUALLY, I WAS GOING TO DO,ANOTHER MOVIE THAT IVE BEEN WRITING FOR, LIKE, FOUR YEARS.,BUT THEN– BUT THEN– AND I KNEW GUILLERMO WAS GOING TO MAKE THE,MOVIE AND I WAS A HUGE FAN OF HIS FROM “SHAPE OF WATER,” AND,OTHERS. AND I KNEW LEONARDO DICAPRIO WHO,IS A FRIEND OF MINE AND I ADMIRE TREMENDOUSLY, AND HE DROPPED,OUT. MY FRIEND AND AGENT DAVE SAID,,”GUILLERMO WANTS TO MEET WITH YOU.”,AND I WAS LIKE, “REALLY?” HONESTLY, MAYBE THIS SOUNDS,CRAZY, BUT JUST THE FACT THAT I WAS THE SECRETARY IN LINE, LIKE,,AFTER LEO HE WAS GOING TO GO TO ME.,I WAS LIKE, “ILL DO ANYTHING YOU WANT.”,THE CAST WAS ALREADY ASSEMBLED. HE ALREADY HAD CATE BLANCHETT,AND WILLEM DAFOE. AND I WAS LIKE OF COURSE IM,GOING TO DO IT. >> Stephen: LETS TALK A,LITTLE MORE ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER WHO IS STANTON CARLISLE.,HES SOMETHING OF A DRIFTER. >> YES.,>> Stephen: BUT CLEARLY A FIERCELY INTELLIGENT PERSON.,>> YES. >> Stephen: YOU KNOW, A VERY,QUICK STUDY, SHALL WE SAY. FACILE.,>> A SURVIVOR. >> Stephen: YES.,NOW, IM CURIOUS, EVERYBODY IN THE MOVIE, TO A CERTAIN EXTENT,IS A CARNY. A LOT OF THE CHARACTERS ARE.,AND A LOT OF THEM ARE GRIFTERS OF SOME KIND OR ANOTHER.,>> RIGHT, YEAH. >> Stephen: AND IM CURIOUS,,AS AN ACTOR, IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU RELATE TO THAT?,OR WHAT WAYS DO YOU– MAYBE ANOTHER WAY TO PUT IT IS HOW DO,YOU AVOID BEING THAT AS AN ACTOR?,BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THE NOMEN– >> HOW ABOUT AS A PERSON.,>> Stephen: WELL, OKAY, OKAY, SURE, AS A PERSON.,HOW DO YOU AVOID DOING THAT? >> BEING UTTERLY MANIPULATIVE,ALL THE TIME. >> Stephen: TO GET WHAT YOU,WANT– >> RIGHT.,>> Stephen: BY PRESENTING ONE FACE–,>> THATS RIGHT. >> Stephen: THAT YOU THINK,PEOPLE WANT TO SEE. >> YES.,AND THEREIN LIES WHY THIS ROLE ACTUALLY WAS VERY HARD IN THE,END. BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE OLDER YOU,GET, THE OLDER I GET, I JUST WANT TO DO– REALLY DONT ACT.,DO AS MUCH PREPARATION AS I CAN, AND WE HAD SIX MONTHS TO,PREPARE, WHICH WAS WONDERFUL. AND GUILLERMO AND I WE WORKED ON,THE SCRIPT WITH CATE AND ROONEY AND CAME UP WITH WHATS THE,STORY. AND WE GOT THERE AND IT FELT,LIKE WE INVOKED STANTON CARLISLE.,THE VOICE ALONE. WE WORKED ON THE VOICE.,TIM MONACO WHO I HAVE WORKED WITH, DERIN BROWN, I GOT TO WORK,WITH HIM. AND REALLY HONED EVERYTHING.,SO THIS GUY KIND OF EXISTED. AND GUILLERMO AND I KIND OF,WATCHED WHAT STANTONT WAS GOING TO DO EVERY DAY.,>> Stephen: STANTON CARLISLE STARTS OUT AS A MIDWAY,MENTALIST. >> HE STARTS OUT AS A GRIFTER,AND LEARNS ABOUT MENTALISM FROM DAVID STRAHHANS CHARACTER, AND,YOU USE THEM AND STRIVE OFF OF THOSE SKILLS.,ALL HE DOES IS MANIPULATE. AND IT DEFINITELY DID KIND OF,MESS ME UP A LITTLE BIT. IT WAS DARK.,IT WAS A DARK FILM. >> Stephen: DO YOU THINK YOU,COULD DO THAT WITH YOUR OWN STUDY OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR?,BECAUSE SO MUCH OF IT IS TRYING TO PERCEIVE IN SOMEONE ELSE THE,NEED THAT THEY WONT NAME PUBLICLY, AND THEN GIVING THEM,THE THING THAT THEY WISH THEY COULD ASK FOR.,>> YES. I MEAN, CATES CHARACTER SAYS,,”WHAT DO I WANT?” AND HE SAYS, “WHAT EVERYBODY,WANTS– TO BE FOUND OUT.” AND YOU HIT THEM WHERE IT,COUNTS– HEALTH, WEALTH, LOVE. FIND OUT WHAT THEYRE AFRAID OF,AND SELL IT BACK TO THEM AS LONG AS YOU DONT OVERSELL IT.,>> Stephen: WE HAVE A CLIP HERE.,DO YOU WANT TO SET IT UP? IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO,SAY BEFORE WE SEE THIS NEXT CLIP?,ITS A– ITS A VERY INTERESTING MOMENT IN THIS FILM.,>> WELL, THIS CLIP THAT WERE GOING TO WATCH WAS– WE WERE,TERRIFIED OF THIS SCENE, ALL OF US, GUILLERMO AND MYSELF,,REALLY. ITS AN IMPORTANT SCENE, AND,ITS A SCENE THAT A LOT OF THE MOVIE IS LEADING TOWARDS.,SO WE ACTUALLY HAD A ROAMING SET THAT WE COULD TAKE WITH US EVERY,DAY IN CASE WE DIDNT GET IT. BECAUSE WE WERE BOTH KIND OF,TERRIFIED THAT IT WOULDNT HAPPEN.,ISNT THAT NUTS? >> Stephen: SO, LIKE, WE,DIDNT GET IT, LETS TRY IT AGAIN TOMORROW AND IT WOULD,ALWAYS BE READY TO GO? >> YES.,IT WOULD ALWAYS BE READY. IT TAKES PLACE IN THE TRAILER,,WE SHOOT TIM BLAKE NELSON AND WE WOULD HAVE THE FOOT ANNUAL JUST,IN CASE. WE ALSO CAME UP WITH ANOTHER,SCENE THAT COULD HAVE COME AFTER, THAT UP ON THE OF FEAR OF,IS THIS GOING TO HAPPEN? ON THE DAY, THE TAKE YOURE,GOING TO SEE IS ONE TAKE, FIRST TAKE, IT ALL JUST HAPPENED.,AND IT WAS KIND OF A MAGICAL MOMENT.,>> Stephen: JIM? >> IT AINT MUCH, BUT ITS A,JOB, RIGHT? >> OF COURSE, ITS ONLY,TEMPORARY. JUST UNTIL WE GET A REAL GEEK.,.YOU KNOW WHAT A GEEK IS? >> SO WHAT DO YOU SAY?,YOU THINK YOU CAN HANDLE IT?,YOU THINK YOU CAN HANDLE IT?,>> I WAS BORN FOR IT. ( APPLAUSE ),>> I WAS BORN FOR IT. ( APPLAUSE ),SAID. THERES NOTHING TO BE SAID,,UNFORTUNATELY, RIGHT NOW. A STRANGELY SATISFYING MOMENT,,OR A STRANGELY– ITS A STRANGE CONSUMMATION OF A LOT OF OTHER,EVENTS THAT MOMENT RIGHT THERE. >> 100%.,>> Stephen: ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU DRINK THE WHEN I HAVE BEENY.,>> YEAH. >> Stephen: ESPECIALLY WHEN,YOU TAKE THAT SECOND SHOT. >> OH, MAN.,>> Stephen: WE HAVE TO TAKE A QUICK BREAK.,I WILL ASK BRADLEY COOPER ABOUT HIS OTHER NEW MOVIE, “LICORICE,PIZZA,” AND THE ODD CONNECTION HE HAS TO THE CHARACTER HE,PLAYS. STICK AROUND.
Nightmare Alley – Movie Review
Nightmare Alley | Moral Of The Story (Film Analysis)
until you make the unconscious conscious,it will direct your life and you will,call it fate,this quote from carl jung serves as the,thesis for guillermo del toros,nightmare alley,its an extremely important idea and one,that we dont see confronted in cinema,that often only superb writing and,acting can portray the subtleties of the,idea properly but nightmare alley is,more than up for the task,to understand the main character stan,and his ginormous character arc we need,to keep youngs wisdom in the back of,our mind because it is stans inability,to recognize this truth until the films,very last shot that causes him to burn,his entire life in the lives of those,who interact with him to the ground,stans arc is perfectly established in,the opening scene we are introduced to a,man whos desperately trying to escape,his past we see him store a body under,the floorboards of a house and then he,burns it to the ground,the scene visualizes what is happening,inside stans mind he is repressing the,destructive feelings that his father has,instilled in him feelings of pain,resentment and most importantly a,feeling of deep inferiority,later in the film stan says that he,blames his father for his mother leaving,but deep down stan feels culpability,by stitching blame to his father he,feels he can escape that feeling of,abandonment by burning the entire quilt,if you will but again the feelings are,not eliminated by his fathers murder,theyre only repressed,when stan heads off with his entire,family now dead he is primed for,destruction he is a time-bombed quote,mike from breaking bad and hes a time,bomb for the same reason walter white,was he is not conscious of his deepest,desires his mind is all smoke and,mirrors and mirrors are a constant,visual motif in the film being a symbol,of self-identity and self-knowledge,stan winds up finding a home with a,traveling carnival and no place could be,worse for stan the entire culture is,cheap tricks and deception its a,swindlers paradise,so the self-deceptive pathogen inside,stan finds the ideal temperature to,survive and grow,the first axtan encounters at the,carnival is a geek show an act where a,man who has been mentally shattered by,alcohol or drugs does acts of insanity,to entertain the audience the man who,runs the show clem tells stan that the,reason people pay to watch a fellow,human to grade themselves is to get a,shot of the,at least im not that guy drug they want,to feel good about themselves,this quote is very important to the,story because stan will go on to perform,for the identical reason stan falls in,love with cold reads because it makes,him feel superior to others it makes,them feel like a complex and unique,person while everyone else is just a,basic organism who can be manipulated,with ease,but before stan commits to a career of,showmanship he receives a couple of,warnings from his fellow performers,the first warning is dont allow your,tricks to evolve into destructive lies,if someone asks to communicate with,loved ones do not humor them tell them,your game and call it a day,and perhaps even more importantly pete,tells stan that you cant run away from,god,if you consciously sin you will not,escape the consequences,stans subconscious turns both warnings,to ash it also ends up quote unquote,accidentally killing pete a potential,substitute father that felt threatening,to stand,and i do also want to touch upon the,deformed fetus with a third eye that is,given a tremendous amount of emphasis,during the movie the baby killed its,mother during childbirth and ended up,dying itself a few days later the fetus,constantly attracts stans attention and,i believe thats because of the,parallels between them,the fetus killed its mother stan killed,his father just like the geek which stan,eventually becomes the fetus is used as,a sort of curiosity that people look at,in pity during stans performances he,wears a blindfold that puts an eye on,his forehead the same location of the,fetuss third eye,now after pete dies stan is offered an,outlet for redemption in the form of,molly she is the moral center of the,film and this is represented by her,aggressively red wardrobe usually red is,a mark for death but in this case i,think its more representative of,mollys vitality and true love that she,has for stan love that stan can never,replicate because of his inferiority,complex,the relationship does endure for a,couple of years as stan becomes the,great stanton but things begin to fall,apart when he encounters cate,blanchetts character lilith,it does not take long for lilla to,recognize that stan is a con man but,when she tries to humiliate him in front,of his audience he turns the tables and,humiliates her,she reaches out to stand after the,performance and pitches a scam that,would fleece rich clients of hers in,exchange for meeting their dead loved,ones,and when stan interacts with her the,language he uses is very bold and blunt,he talks like he could care less about,her opinion of him this is another trick,he uses to repress the truth which is he,cares a lot about how people perceive,him,lilith will eventually declare that,shes disappointed that stan is merely,greedy but the money is incidental to,some extent,money is a metric a poor one in my,opinion but it is a metric that people,use to value those around them and stan,wants to be highly valued,his final client ezra tells him that,money has not been enough to give him,peace and peace is what hes hoping stan,can offer the same could be said for,stan himself,wealth is not the solution to his,deep-seated problems,and going back to lilith for a moment,the camerawork during their first scene,is extraordinary the two characters are,always shifting around and the frame,will sometimes put one character above,the other,it shows the battle of wits between the,two characters but also the larger war,inside stans mind the war to put,himself above those he believes deep,down are superior to himself,stan ignores the warnings against spook,shows from earlier and he ignores zenas,cards that predict his downfall because,he believes he has control over his fate,but since his subconscious is still the,prime mover of his behavior he is,fatally mistaken,the lies he tells to people end up,destroying everyone he comes into,contact with he rationalizes these lies,by saying that they are helpful to the,victims but this thesis is destroyed by,the murder suicide of a woman who he,tells will be reunited with her dead son,molly recognizes what these lies are,doing to stan and once she finds a,drawing of lilith she leaves them she,correctly tells stan that something is,missing that you need but its not me,stan pleads for her to stay and its in,this moment of panic that his,subconscious comes to light he tells,molly that everyone has abandoned me in,my life please dont be another one,this is the first moment where you,really see the stan who will accept,being a geek he does start drinking,again with lilith which is a major,foreshadow but the confession to molly,shows us a man who is desperate to keep,this fraudulent world intact,this world where hes a genius performer,who can trick rich people and come home,to a woman who will do anything for him,he uses this world to quell as in her,pain and when molly threatens to burn,that world down he freaks out,she agrees to help him one last time but,things turned to as they were,always destined to,its worth mentioning that before ezra,is killed he confesses that he was,abusive to young women and its this,aspect of his past that has been tearing,him apart inside characters throughout,the film make confessions of this nature,and i think these moments are worth,making us think about our own lives and,what parts of our past we need to face,down and accept,liliths confession is not a personal,one after stan senses the deceit in her,i love you stan,she confesses to him that their entire,plot has been nothing more than a trick,to knock him down a peg,she saw through stan very qu