Guillermo del Toro’s latest movie, Nightmare Alley, has been deemed a departure from his usual style due to the story’s lack of a supernatural threat and focus on the inherent monster in humanity. But its sympathetic portrayal of monstrosity and its unsettling imagery of burning corpses and pickled babies makes it a quintessential del Toro horror opus.
Nightmare Alley is anchored by the work of a fantastic cast, ranging from lead performances by A-listers like Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett to scene-stealing supporting turns by iconic stars like Willem Dafoe and Toni Collette.
10 Tim Blake Nelson As The Carny Boss
Tim Blake Nelson only appears in the final scene of Nightmare Alley, but that scene pulls the whole movie together in unsettling fashion. When Stan has returned to the life of a drifter (and the life of an alcoholic), he stumbles into yet another carnival and asks yet another ringleader for a job. This ringleader is played by an unnerving Nelson.
He initially dismisses Stan, but then he calls him back in for a drink and tells him there’s a “temporary” position available – paying off Willem Dafoe’s most memorable monologue. Cooper sticks the landing in this finale, but Nelson sets him up beautifully.
9 David Strathairn As Pete Krumbein
Pete is the early father figure who seals Stan’s fate. He’s an alcoholic whose death is caused by a bottle of whiskey provided by Stan himself (the guilt from which forms the backbone of his subversive arc).
David Strathairn’s performance brilliantly taps into the tragedy of Pete’s role in the story. He takes Stan under his wing and Stan ends up betraying him so he can steal the tricks that led to Pete’s own moral demise.
8 Mary Steenburgen As Felicia Kimball
Felicia Kimball embodies the truly horrifying effects that Stan’s cons can have. She’s one of the first people he scams after stealing the personal information of Lilith’s patients. He cryptically tells her that she’ll be reunited with her late son.
After misreading this pseudo-mystic con, Felicia shocks audiences with a blood-soaked murder-suicide. The usually sweet, wholesome, comedic Mary Steenburgen was a perfect casting choice for this role. Audiences don’t expect Steenburgen to pull a gun on her character’s husband and then turn it on herself.
7 Ron Perlman As Bruno
No actor is more inextricably tied to del Toro than the great Ron Perlman. Perlman has been working with del Toro since his debut feature Cronos and has since played roles ranging from Hellboy to Hannibal Chau for the legendary director.
Perlman gives a characteristically gruff performance in Nightmare Alley as Bruno, the carnival’s strongman who’s particularly protective of Molly. When Molly falls for Stan, Bruno reveals himself to be just as violent and aggressive off-stage.
6 Rooney Mara As Mary Elizabeth “Molly” Cahill
As the most likable and straight-edged character in Nightmare Alley, Molly is inherently the least substantial role in the movie. But she’s also unique in that she’s the moral center of the story, and Rooney Mara’s typically likable turn makes her easy to root for.
Mara plays into Molly’s central conflict: her good heart is also her biggest weakness. She’s compelled by her empathetic nature to stay with Stan, but the audience is glad when she finally leaves him for good.
5 Richard Jenkins As Ezra Grindle
After playing one of the most likable characters in The Shape of Water, Richard Jenkins reunited with del Toro to play one of the most ethically challenging roles in Nightmare Alley. Ezra Grindle is a monster begging for forgiveness. He pays Stan a handsome salary to get him in touch with one of many young women that he hurt over the years.
Ezra’s own confession confirms that not only is he as bad as the audience imagined; he’s even worse. Jenkins nails this performance, humanizing a character who’s done unforgivable things with overwhelming feelings of remorse.
4 Toni Collette As Madame Zeena
When Stan first takes up residence at the carnival, he befriends a so-called “clairvoyant” named Madame Zeena. He joins the crew of her show and the backstage shenanigans reveal the secrets behind her act.
Toni Collette gives the latest in a long line of delightfully eccentric performances in the role of Zeena. Whether she’s coming onto a bathing Stan or cradling her husband’s lifeless body, Collette’s turn as Zeena is totally unpredictable and deeply engaging.
3 Willem Dafoe As Clement “Clem” Hoately
As proven by his recent return to the Green Goblin role in the Spider-Man franchise, Willem Dafoe is drawn to creepy characters. His turn in Nightmare Alley is one of the creepiest performances of his career, bringing a terrifying calmness to the brutal circus ringleader whose job is to “break” the geeks.
Dafoe brings a wry, pitch-black sense of humor to the role of Clem Hoately, offering the first of three twisted father figures to Stan. The actor’s perfectly delivered monologue about recruiting geeks sets up the harrowing final scene that pulls the whole movie together.
2 Cate Blanchett As Dr. Lilith Ritter
Cate Blanchett doesn’t show up until the second half of Nightmare Alley after a two-year time jump. Dr. Lilith Ritter is a psychologist who calls out the cons of Stan’s mystic show, then joins the con and ends up double-crossing him. In other words, Lilith is a classic femme fatale.
Blanchett gives a pitch-perfect performance as a femme fatale, finally presenting Stan with a fellow alpha whose capacity for lies and deceit and manipulation matches his own.
1 Bradley Cooper As Stanton “Stan” Carlisle
Ultimately, like all great film noirs, Nightmare Alley is a character study. Rather than being driven by a traditional plot, it’s driven by the dark journey that Stan Carlisle embarks on after burning a mysterious corpse in the opening scene. This role needed a compelling actor who would take the audience on this journey and be daring enough to avoid making Stan sympathetic.
Bradley Cooper has the leading-man charisma to anchor the optimistic first half of the movie and the riveting dramatic abilities to dig deep into Stan’s disturbing psychology in the more cynical second half.
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Author: Ben Sherlock
