The movie Guillermo del Toro is proudest of: “Just so exciting for me”
Guillermo Del Toro is an instantly recognisable filmmaker. This doesn’t just apply to his striking physical presence, but also in his stunning body of work. The Mexican director likes to revisit trends and ideas across his filmography, including Catholic doctrine, unconventional love, and the everyday existing alongside the fantastical. His 12 feature films are full of wonderful motifs and his upcoming 13th picture, an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, is highly likely continue this trend.
This idiosyncratic and personal approach to cinema has won Del Toro all sorts of accolades. The Shape of Water secured ‘Best Picture’ at the Oscars, with the man himself scooping that year’s ‘Best Director’ prize. At the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, Pan’s Labyrinth received a 22-minute standing ovation, which is still the longest in the event’s prestigious history. That’s a lot to be proud of, but which of Del Toro’s projects is he most pleased to have finished? According to the NME, it’s 2021’s Nightmare Alley.
“Without a doubt, this is the movie I’m the proudest of,” he said, explaining that he took a very different approach to its creation. “I abandoned a certain sense of pageantry and whimsy, and I went for a more sober, older approach to the material in a way that I’m really happy with. Finding a change of register at age 57 was just so exciting for me.”
Nightmare Alley stars Bradley Cooper as a circus entertainer with poisonous ambition. He ends up using the various women in his life, played by the likes of Rooney Mara, Toni Collette, and Cate Blanchett, which ends up having deadly consequences. It doesn’t fit in the typical Del Toro mould, as references to the supernatural are limited, but it is still dark and gloomy, taking a harsh look at the worst parts of the human condition.
Explaining his decision to forgo fantasy in the film, which is a remake of a 1947 picture starring Tyrone Power, Del Toro revealed that it was all to do with the state of the world. “On a personal level I have never been happier, but as a citizen of the planet I’ve never been more anxious,” he explained. “There’s a sense of doom in the air, and a very disorienting blur between truth and lies. It can be ecological, personal or social, but there is just a very end of days feel to everything at the moment.”
Nightmare Alley reflects Guillermo del Toro’s determination to confront the darker sides of society rather than escape into the fantastical worlds he’s often known for. While this approach is valid and appears to have been artistically fulfilling, the film suffers from its slow pacing and, despite its visual brilliance, feels ultimately uninspired. Though it earned del Toro another ‘Best Picture’ nomination, Nightmare Alley fell short and lost to CODA.
Though his proudest moment might not have been to everybody’s tastes, Del Toro was able to prove that he can make a competent film without relying on outlandish creatures and folk horror. With more pep in his step off the back of it – and off the back of a return to form with his version of Pinocchio – his future seems brighter than ever.
