Charming and quick witted he starts to be involved with Zeena (Frances McDormand) and helps run her mentalism act when long time partner Pete (David Strathairn) is too drunk to manage.
Slowly Stan climbs the social ladder in the carnival, to the annoyance of some until he breaks away with young Molly (Rooney Mara) to form an act of his own.
No good will come of this.
Guillermo del Toro's lengthy love letter to film noir is gorgeous and tragic.
Very much a two part story of a man's rise and fall with a cast to die for. Rooney Mara is superficially "just the girlfriend" but knows her own mind and can see Stan's mounting folly. Cate Blanchett slinks around as the big city fish who is set to swallow Stan and while the circularity of Stan's fate is plain to see it's beautiful to watch unfold.
Highly recommended languorous tragedy 9/10. You know where it's going but you have to watch.