Given that I had appointments to keep today I took the day off from my day-job and that provided me the opportunity to head out to the cinemas and see Nightmare Alley: Vision in Darkness and Light which is the Guillermo del Toro production presented in black and white.

First off let me say that the feature was absolutely fabulous in B&W. There have been other feature films in recent years that have released monochrome editions, Mad Max: Fury Road Black and Chrome and Logan Noir, and neither of these alternative versions were as beautiful or as fitting as Nightmare Alley’s. I think del Toro envisioned the feature in black-and-white, with all the production design aimed at that target. Also as a period piece we movie lovers are so used to seeing that era in monochrome that it feels more natural and strangely more realistic without vibrant colors. That is not to say that the production design suffered in color. It was beautiful and captivating and a true testament to the artistry and skill of the team.

Where The Tragedy of Macbeth in Black and white feels stagey, unreal, this film feels grounded because of it.

Watching the film a second time it grew on me more and I was even more deeply immersed in the story and the characters.  The film is layered and the performances at time quite subtle. With a repeat viewing I became more aware of symbolic establishments that foretold the eventual end for the charlatan Stanton Carlisle. It was also clear in subtle moments when characters had committed themselves to irrevocable courses of action. I enjoyed the movie the first time, last night I loved it.