Nightmare Alley: A One-Way Trip to Hell!

This film is Director Guillermo Del Toro's remake of the 1947 "Nightmare Alley."  It has a terrific cast, and the acting is excellent.  The costumes and set designs are also wonderful.  The story, however, is a very depressing one, so the film is a "bummer" in the truest sense of the word.  It received an AA nomination for Best Picture, and I understand why it was chosen, but it's 139 minutes long, and I wish it had been at least 20 minutes shorter. Stan Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) is a man on the run.  The film begins with Stan in a house, dragging a corpse, and then setting the house on fire!  Stan then hops a train and lands at a traveling side-show, populated with all types of strange characters.  Stan gets a job there and finds himself attracted to Molly (Rooney Mara), who has an act where 1000s of volts of electricity pass through her while she is sitting in a chair.  Stan wants to run away with Molly. Stan also befriends Zeena (Toni Collette) and Pete (David Strathaim), who have a great mentalism act.  Stan wants to learn how to do this because they make a lot of money.  Eventually, he also gets entangled with a psychiatrist, Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett).  I won't say any more about the plot or I'll spoil the film, but Stan's self-sabotaging journey was not fun for me to watch. It's an interesting character study, so if you don't mind the bleak view of human nature expressed here you might enjoy it, since it's a very well-crafted film.  With the world being as f***ed-up as it is right now, however, I'd rather spend my time watching lighter films.