I knew nothing about this movie.

I knew nothing about this movie. I haven't seen the original 1947 film. I've never read the novel on which the movie is based. I know del Toro, at least a bit, as Pan's Labyrinth is one of my favorite fantasy films. In reading the script, then watching the movie, I found it to be a fascinating character study of the Protagonist character: Stan Carlisle.

I think that all movies, indeed, all stories explore a fundamental question about key characters, most notably the Protagonist. That question is: Who are you? Stories traffic in self-identity. Nightmare Alley has an interesting vantage point into this question in at least two respects. First, there is the circle of characters surrounding Stan, each of which is an influence in his transformation-journey. The carny, which he joins almost immediately after the opening incident (the burning of a corpse and the house which presumably has historical significance to Stan), frames this narrative dynamic in dramatic fashion as the characters are larger than life figures, veering toward the bizarre. Once Stan departs the Old World (Carny) for the New World (Sophisticates), the "family of characters" surrounding Stan may be more well-heeled, but they are in their own way archetypes (e.g., Attractors, Mentors, Tricksters). Thus, there is this roster of characters Stan intersects with who influence him and ultimately create a series of choices he makes which lead him down a slippery slope toward physical and psychological dissolution.

The second motif: Perception. Stan is a huckster who pretends to be a kind of seer who can read peoples' past and peer deep into their soul. He is also a huckster toward himself. He perceives that he is better than he is, indeed, is desperate to achieve a level of success, ultimately marked by nailing a Big Score, which will distance himself from a harsh truth, something revealed in the very last scene.

Thus, for all the horror elements, the noir atmosphere, and the gamesmanship at work in the plot, Nightmare Alley is at its core a study in psychology.

Here's what may seem to be a strange movie association: The Silence of the Lambs. Like Clarice, Stan has "daddy issues." Like Clarice, there is a void where a mother once was. Like Clarice, Stan makes a deal with a psychiatrist to exchange information: clues the Protagonist needs to further their "case" which requires the Protagonist to tell the truth about their personal life. At a base level, Lilith is Hannibal Lecter, a Mentor with the soul of a Trickster.

Comparing Nightmare Alley to The Silence of the Lambs is instructive in another way: While the latter film has a clear take on what type of story it is -- a psychological thriller wrapped up as a crime story -- Nightmare Alley is a comingling of mulitple genres and storylines. Horror. Thriller. Crime. Monsters. Romantic triangle. Psychological study. There's a log going on which goes a long to explain why it clocks in at 150 minutes (even though the script is only 115 pages in length).

Much more to come in the way of analysis. Next up: Plot.