Guillermo del Toro is a master of the motif.
I think people often overlook Guillermo del Toro when they talk about the greatest living directors. The guy does not miss. His mind is delightfully unique, telling stories that we haven’t seen before. Even his adaptation of Nightmare Alley, which was a book and a movie before his version, stands on its own as something wholly different. It’s darker, weirder, and more layered than most movies we see today.
In Vanity Fair’s most recent episode of “Notes on a Scene,” Bradley Cooper and director Guillermo del Toro break down the scene where Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) is on a manhunt at the carnival for the “geek” that has escaped. Cooper and del Toro explain how they built up the complexity of this scene by layering mazes and labyrinth-like funhouse elements while highlighting visual premonitions that appear throughout the film. And this showcases how no one layers motifs like del Toro.
Check out this video from Vanity Fair, and let’s chat after the break.
Author: Jason Hellerman
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
