You can count me as someone who is waiting until I see Guillermo Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley before making any Oscars predicitons. You can’t count Del Toro out, and even after the accolades showered on Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape of Water there seems to be a lot of that going on. But with a cast led by Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Rooney Mara, and Richard Jenkins, and based on a 1947 noir classic, there’s every reason to think this creepy thriller will be a major player.
Cooper stars as two-bit hustler and con man Stan Carlisle, who finds himself entwined with Blanhett’s Dr. Lilith Ritter, a devious psychiatrist who may be more than he can handle.
The original features one of the best final acts, and final scenes for that matter, that I can remember. Here’s hoping Del Toro doesn’t change too much, and judging by this trailer he won’t.
Also in the cast are Toni Collette, Ron Perlman, David Straithairn, Mary Steenburgen, Clifton Collins Jr., and Tim Blake Nelson.
Nightmare Alley opens on December 17th.
