Del Toro’s (The Shape of Water, Pan's Labyrinth) latest is a tale of a carnival grifter, magically pulled from a 1946 novel and a 1947 noir film of the same name.
Somewhat mysterious drifter and wannabe grifter Stan (Bradley Cooper) stumbles upon a depression-era carnival filled with a world of carny characters in a set designer's wet dream. He meets a carnival manager (Willem Dafoe), a clairvoyant (Toni Collette), her mentalist husband (David Strathairn) and a lightning rod love interest (Rooney Mara). In his follow up to The Shape of Water, del Toro has found some new monsters; it's just not always clear who they are. In a clearly distinct second act, we meet one more character, Dr. Lillith Reader, played by a silkly suave Cate Blanchett that could have been in a 1930's noir.
But it's Cooper that steals almost every non Blanchett-scene, however. With a transition from folksy everyman to overconfident grifter to (something else I won't say), this is easily his widest trajectory on film and his best performance. He puts it all out there. The film's powerful final moment will be on his Oscar clip.
While the dark beauty of this film captured my interest early on, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this film at around the first 10-minutes, which celebrates a lot of the grotesque. I was also thrown by two distinct parts that felt like two different genre films. However, i got pulled into where each scene was going next.
What a magic trick.
In a nutshell: A dark faiy tale, shown expertly and sometimes noir-beautifully. It's not a perfect film, but it's Bradley Cooper's best role.
Oscar potential: It's peaking at the right time to shake up the nomination list that had previously left it out. I think Cooper will surprise and break into the acting nominations. Blanchett's role was hot stuff, but it bordered on parody and will get misses. It's a long shot for Best Picture and Guillermo will be back another day.
Where to watch it: Currently in theatres and on HBOmax.
The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.
In a nutshell: A dark faiy tale, shown expertly and sometimes noir-beautifully. It's not a perfect film, but it's Bradley Cooper's best role.
Oscar potential: It's peaking at the right time to shake up the nomination list that had previously left it out. I think Cooper will surprise and break into the acting nominations. Blanchett's role was hot stuff, but it bordered on parody and will get misses. It's a long shot for Best Picture and Guillermo will be back another day.
Where to watch it: Currently in theatres and on HBOmax.
The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.
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