Any new Guillermo Del Toro film is an instant 'must-see' at the cinemas. Especially lately with his previous film 'The Shape Of Water' winning Best Picture at the Oscars back in 2018.
His love of cinema, monsters, horror, the classics and his impeccable production designs makes it easy to see that he just adores this industry of story-telling.
Along with the star power involved, the momentum of that Oscar win as well as the timing of its release had me hoping for this to be another awards contender.
I can certainly see this being in the race in many aspects. I loved that Del Toro goes for a noir style of story-telling. It is a genre that is associated with films of the 1940's and it is a shame we don't see enough neo-noir films these days, as it is a style that I think is ready for a comeback.
The constant feeling of mystery, knowing who to trust and observing the dark side of human nature to name but a few examples of the genre. This has all of that, whilst also having that vintage Del Toro touch of a love of monsters, hinting at the realms of fantasy and the most amazing set designs.
The ensemble cast do a great job and it is fronted by a strong leading performance by Bradley Cooper. His level of charisma sucks you in perfectly for the ride and your initial investment had me gripped by this trouble character that we see both thrive and unravel in that wonderful way that a Greek tragedy would play out.
While we only encounter her in the second half, Cate Blanchett still gives a striking on-screen presence that you can't help but be effected by. That striking and almost sinister look she always gives along with that deep voice made her quite the match for Cooper.
I am been loving Rooney Mara more and more ever since seeing her in 2017's 'A Ghost Story' and her casting felt correct for the chosen time period and was the right amount of innocence to balance out everything else in this story.
There were also many strong performances in minor roles by the always great Toni Collette, a Willem Dafoe that is having a particularly memorable year, the underrated David Strathairn, the always reliable Richard Jenkins, Del Toro's regular collaborator Ron Perlman and a nice surprise of Mary Steenburgen.
As mentioned before, the production design and cinematography as a connected unit create this amazing mystical and deadly world that you can't help but appreciate. Del Toro and his team make beautifully looking films and this is the film's strongest aspect that deserves to be decorated with awards.
Also, the score by Nathan Johnson fits in really well and is aspect that should be not be over-looked.
However, I felt the whole film could have been a bit tighter. The duration felt a fraction too long and there were some sluggish moments.
But other than that, I really liked this one. It's not ground-breaking, it's just strong story-telling and film-making by a director this is a celebrated master of the industry. It is the type of story you don't often see these days, there are plenty of characters to be intrigued by and get invested with, the cast are as great as you would expect given the list of people involved and whilst the tone is far from feel-good, you will nevertheless be entertained and satisfied.
Rating: 8/10
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