Nightmare Alley – 5

I realize that smoking was more common in 1941, but why did Guillermo del Toro put cigarettes in almost every scene of this movie? It’s unneeded as an acting crutch, and it diverts the viewer’s (or at least my) focus from the story: what must his breath smell like when he kisses her?, I wonder extraneously. My bigger peeve is that it glorifies cigarettes to young people who are tempted to take up the unhealthy, filthy habit. If Bradley Cooper does it and looks cool, why shouldn’t I do it, too? This, of course, is not the only movie featuring cigarettes. My guess is that 75% of the ones I see do, and it’s almost always unnecessary to the plot. Why, then?
As for the movie itself, one wonders why it was needed, or wanted. Del Toro is known for his personal fascination with horror chambers, and the carnival setting allows him to wallow in the grotesque, while the story is textbook noir. Cooper’s character is not really convincing, but you feel Del Toro is more enamored of his scenes and settings than his people, none of whom we actually care about. Which is a problem.