The stern, sexy, spooky character is Blanchett’s bread and butter. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett), a skeptical psychiatrist who probes his past trauma and becomes his woman on the side. During a sold-out performance, Stanton meets steely seductress Dr. The smitten duo tours hotels, and go from shabby farm clothes to tuxedos, gowns and Champagne. Bradley Cooper plays Stanton, a man who winds up working at a carnival, in “Nightmare Alley.” Kerry HayesĪ charismatic natural, Stanton takes over the act and soon runs away with Molly (Rooney Mara), whose special carny skill is surviving electrocution. Her alcoholic husband Pete (David Strathairn) wrote a guidebook on how to swindle gullible onlookers by, say, having your assistant adjust the tone of her voice to feed you information on the marks. Stanton becomes a barker for a medium, Zeena the Seer (Toni Collette), and she teaches him the sneaky tricks of the trade. In a career-best performance, Bradley Cooper plays Stanton, a lost soul who winds up working at a circus after helping the owner (Willem Dafoe) get rid of a violent “Geek.” And, most importantly, there are no sea-monster sex scenes. A long list of major stars are doing exciting work. The sinister carnival sideshow look is alluring, a perfect match for subversive del Toro.

His latest, “Nightmare Alley,” probably won’t, but it is nonetheless a far more entertaining and satisfying film than its overrated science-fiction predecessor. The last time Guillermo del Toro directed a movie, 2017’s “ The Shape of Water,” he won the Best Picture Oscar. Rated R (strong/bloody violence, some sexual content, nudity and language).

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