Searchlight Pictures presents Nightmare Alley from Double Dare You, co-directed by Guillermo del Toro and directed by Guillermo del Toro from a screenplay by Guillermo del Toro and Kim Morgan, adapted from a novel by William Lindsay Gresham.
When the charismatic Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) meets an extraordinary marriage on his way:
future-seeing Zeena (Toni Collette) and her husband, former telepath Pete (David Strathairn), decides to
change his hitherto unlucky life. Together with the loyal and noble Molly (Rooney Mara), she begins to
use the naivety of the New York elite to get rich, and her newly acquired knowledge quickly turns out to be a
ticket to success. Soon, however, Stanton will go a step too far when, under the influence of a mysterious
psychology (Cate Blanchett), decides to defraud a dangerous financial tycoon (Richard Jenkins).
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In Nightmare Lane , the visionary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro explores the darkest,
engaging and realistic film genre – film noir . The action takes place in the 1930s between
the closed world of a traveling amusement park, a kingdom of sensations and miracles, and temples of wealth and power
dominated by temptation and betrayal. At the center of the story is the man who has sold his soul
to the art of deception. This is Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper), a wandering trickster turning
into a stunning showman and manipulator with such mastery that he begins to believe in his ability to
outsmart fate. Showing Stanton del Toro ‘s hectic ascent traces the derailment of the “American dream”.
The film is based on the 1946 fatalistic novel by William Lindsay Gresham
about a charismatic connoisseur consumed by uncontrolled ambition. Del Toro was naturally drawn to the macabre and deeply human world of traveling magicians.
The filmmaker saw
Gresham’s novel as autobiographical and decided to probe the blurred divisions between illusion and reality,
desperation and control, success and tragedy. He saw it as a warning against the dark side of American
capitalism. The director himself says about the film like this:
I was interested in a story about destiny and humanism. Stanton Carlisle has received everything he
needs to change his life. He is surrounded by people who believe in him, love him and trust him. Yet his inclinations and pride are so strong that he turns away from them.
The film features Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney
Mara, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, David Strathairn.
“Nightmares” in cinemas from January 28, 2022.