My Review of "Nightmare Alley"

Nightmare Alley came out last year in 2021. Unfortunately this was also the same time the juggernaut Spiderman: No Way Home was released. Not a lot of people watched Nightmare Alley and that's a shame. This movie would have been brilliant to see on the big screens because of its gorgeous art direction.

The movie starts off very mysteriously. We have glimpses of what seems like the not so distant past. Our main protagonist, Stanton, seems to be caring for a dying old man. Soon there after we see Stanton burning down what seems like the old man's home.

It doesn't really reveal what happened but there are additional flashbacks to this scene later on in the movie. All we know is that Stanton now seems to be on the run. He seems like some sort of drifter that just happens to arrive at a circus. We learn about a few characters in the circus.

They kindly take him into the circus as they need help to get everything up and running. Some of them even teach him some of their tricks of the trade. After learning some mind boggling skills Stanton decides to set out and make a name for himself.

This movie constantly foreshadows what will happen to Stanton and I'll leave it at that. If say anymore it'll probably ruin the whole movie. From the description of the plot it doesn't seem too exciting but the movie does progress into some crazy scenarios.

You have to be a little patient with this movie to fully enjoy it. The first half really is to introduce the characters. It is somewhat of a mystery movie but there aren't really any clues for you to figure out what's going to happen next. I guess with the movie being somewhat predictable you can figure it out anyways.

Still this sense of mystique continues to permeate throughout the movie. It kept me drawn to this movie. It's not everyone's cup of tea but it is quite enjoyable if you love seeing a character constantly changing throughout the movie.

There are a few life lessons in this movie that are quite relatable. Unfortunately I can't divulge the lessons because it'll spoil the movie.

As I said earlier this movie is very beautiful and I love the art direction. It is a very stylistic movie from the color grading of the film to the costumes and props. There's a lot to love about this movie.

The only thing that holds it back from being amazing is the pacing of the first half of the movie. If you stick with it the payoff at the end is absolutely intense and nail biting. I did think that maybe this shock factor at the end was a result of the calm and demure nature of the first half.

Surprisingly there is a lot of believability when it comes to this movie. I could see how this could have happened in real life. There are a ton of people just like Stanton and I'm sure they would have done the same things if they were in his shoes.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie. I thought that the first half was a little slow in the pacing. I can't really fault that because it may have contributed to the spectacular ending. It is visually striking and has a very compelling story. That's why I have to give this movie a 7 out of 10. I'll probably suggest this movie to some of my more artistic friends. They would probably appreciate the beauty of this movie. That's not to say everyone can't enjoy it though.