UK fans of crisp, Gothic noir won’t need to have their arms twisted re this offering from Guillermo del Toro. His adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s 1946 novel has aroused so much interest that a black and white version is now enjoying a limited release in the States (I haven’t seen it, but the screenshots are scrumptious). Casual film-goers, however, may need more persuading. Check out the runtime. Yep, that’s one hell of a long alley.
In chronicling the rise of seething prairie boy, Stan (Bradley Cooper), del Toro spends a lot of time with carnival folk. The Mexican genius behind Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape of Water has obviously been influenced by Tod Browning’s Freaks. But where that mind-warping masterpiece was low budget and had no stars, this one cost $60m and is crammed with big names.
