‘Nightmare Alley’ Bites Off More Chicken Heads Than It Can Chew, but Guillermo del Toro’s Noir Is Too Luscious for Oscars to Ignore

There are two movies within Searchlight Pictures’ “Nightmare Alley.” One makes eight-time nominee Bradley Cooper a long overdue Oscar winner. The other would add another statue to the shelf of visionary director Guillermo del Toro. Depending on which one entices an Academy voter, they could fall for one, both or neither of the options. The darkly complex and gruesome outing may prove to be more difficult for some conservative movie-goers to take in. At minimum, the race for best production design may have just ended tonight.To be clear, I loved nearly every bit of “Nightmare Alley” and it very well could be the best movie del Toro has ever made. However, my feelings here are irrelevant. The question is will the Academy go for it?The directing branch, along with the rest of Hollywood adores the essence of Guillermo del Toro. No one makes movies the way he does, ...