(available on Netflix)
Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of the 1946 William Lindsay Gresham crime novel is a glorious and seductive modern-day film noir. A previous adaptation starring Tyrone Power came in 1947, but the limits imposed by the Hayes Code didn’t allow for the same level of seediness and grotesqueness that del Toro’s modern version delivers.
The plot is quintessential noir: an unscrupulous young drifter joins a second-rate carnival after leaving behind a dark and murderous past. Whilst working there, he picks up the essential tools required to hustle, despite the warnings of David Strathairn’s Pete Krumbein. Luring in Rooney Mara’s innocent and smitten Molly, Cooper’s Stanton Carlisle heads for New York to make his fortune from phoney psychic shows. Of course, it being noir, pride comes before a fall and the sins of the central character must be paid in full.
The film has a surreal quality to it, the colour schemes of the cinematography are similar to those of del Toro’s The Shape of Water. The director is in his element here, certain moments reminiscent of earlier work like The Devil’s Backbone and Tod Browning’s Freaks. There are no supernatural nasties here, but the human characters are among the most repugnant of all del Toro’s creations.
The actors seem to have been chosen, besides their skill at the craft, for their striking appearances. Cate Blanchett and Bradley Cooper have that classic movie star quality. Blanchett at times reminds me of both Barbera Stanwyck and Veronica Lake from certain angles, whilst Cooper’s dishevelled introduction evokes the image of Tom Neal in Detour.
A brooding and unsettling neo-noir that serves as a wonderfully crafted love letter to classic cinema.
4/5
