Nightmare Alley (2021)

A man falls in with a carnival and soon makes a place for himself, first by doing whatever is needed and then with his quick-thinking and vision. It doesn't take him long to leave the traveling show -- taking the prettiest girl with him -- to craft a successful mentalist act in legitimate venues. When he's noticed by a well-to-do man eager to speak to his dead son, he seizes the opportunity to follow the money.

This is del Toro's second-best movie (after Pan's Labyrinth), but it's still only this side of "OK." The performances are brilliant and the atmosphere is perfect, but the story itself simply goes where it must. I wasn't surprised and I wasn't truly satisfied. This big, sweeping movie ended predictably and quietly -- I felt almost cheated.

B