Week 24 in film

Good week for films. Most of it the result of a rainy, windy weekend combined with a slight hangover:

Deadfall (Christopher Coppola, 1993)
Crap, what a horrible movie. Had to watch it because it has a hilarious Cage-performance, which is the only excuse for watching this piece of garbage. Cage is out of his mind, which is, as ever, priceless  2/10



Stoker (Chan Wook Park, 2013)
South-Korea is coming to Hollywood and this is the result. It is an exact mix with a typical Hollywood-twist-and-turns plot, beautiful cinematography and intense directing from Asia. The latter making it somewhat worthwhile 6/10

To Be or Not To Be (Ernst Lubitsch, 1942)
Perhaps one of the best comedy's ever. This film about a bunch of 'nazi'-actors is sharp, witty and has a high tempo. Pretty sure Tarantino watched it before he made his Inglourious Basterds.  9/10

Where the Sidewalk Ends (Otto Preminger, 1950)
The kind of noir-quality I expected from Preminger. Great plot, suspense and of course it has the beautiful Gene Tierney  8/10

Il gattopardo (Luchino Visconti, 1963)
To be honest I am somewhat disappointed by this classic. Ok, the cinematography is of Italian beauty and style. Its plot nevertheless demands quite a bit of patience. Perhaps better appreciated with more background knowledge of Italian politics or maybe a second viewing. Does have great performances.  7.5/10



Still Walking (Hirokazu Koreeda, 2008)
Russia has Zvyagintsev to imitate Tarkovsky, Japan has Koreeda to imitate Ozu. Intimate portrayal of a complex (as ever) family situation demands great leads which are present. Still it feels like something is missing, as if more impact could have been established.  7.5/10

Super 8 (J.J. Abrams, 2011)
E.T. has grown older. Well-portrayed roles by child actors who want to make a horror movie. 7/10

Only God Forgives (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2013)
Not even close to Refn's Drive. Closer to Fear X. Style over substance is abused here. Neon lights, elektro music, Lynchian takes in deep hallways. Theoretically it could totally blow me away, unfortunately any emotional involvement is lacking. The violence is overdone again, this time not only uncomfortable but also inappropriate. Has some good moments and Kristin Scott Thomas is impressive, but that's about it.  6/10



Tristana (Luis Bunuel, 1970)
The beautiful Catherine Deneuve is falling apart in more than one way. Not bad, but I am still not a fan of Bunuel's style. Viridiana being the major exception.  7/10

Dead Ringers (David Cronenberg, 1988)
Brilliant twin gynaecologists are sharing work, praise and women. Treats some interesting themes but presents them without focus. Maybe too rich and promising. Tedious. 6/10

Cosmopolis (David Cronenberg, 2012)

Cosmopolis, the latest production of David Cronenberg (Videodrome, A History of Violence) resulted in a lot of discussion amongst the critics at this year’s Cannes Festival. After watching this film I can completely understand why. After his (for me) disappointing A Dangerous Method I was curious and even excited to watch this one in which the director supposedly went back to his roots. Personally I wouldn’t agree with this statement but this movie is for sure a typical Cronenberg mixing the ‘old’ and ‘new’ side of the filmmaker.

Eric Packer (Robert Pattinson) is a confident 28-year old billionaire who lives in New York City. He is a brilliant Wall Street prodigy who bet a lot of his capital on the yuan’s exchange rate. We follow him in his limousine on his way for a haircut. While losing most of his capital as the rate is going up Packer calmly discusses his philosophies with co-workers, friends, security guard and his lovers. All of this happens in his limo, he even gets a prostate exam while talking, and in the outside world the riots and threats against his life are getting worse and worse.

The long monologues and dialogue especially in the first hour of the film can easily be qualified as monotone and therefore dull. Even though some of the theories and topics are very interesting (consider we are in the near future) it is hard to keep your attention. Most of this appears to be due to Pattinson’s performance, but as the movie progresses we learn that this is exactly the point, and I think Cronenberg chose the Twilight-star for a very good reason. Not only does he have the right looks for this role, his lack of emotional expressions and somewhat cold manners are exactly what Eric Packer is like.

Of course a parallel could be drawn between Packer and Patrick Bateman, the protagonist in Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho, but there are some important differences. First of all the fun is missing in Packer’s monologue, it is not about his favourite bands or how he wants to kill women but about less superficial and more intelligent subjects. The comparison is very strong for the relationships Packer has, especially the one with his newly wed. In a few occasions these scenes had strong similarities in emotional (or lack of ) involvement. Patrick Bateman claimed not to ‘exist’ emotionally. Packer is craving for kicks and emotions, since the spoiled billionaire doesn’t seem to be impressed by all the dangers around him. It’s like nothing can or will hurt him. (Yes, when his favourite rapper dies, the whole world cries, what a future prospect!)

The dull start of the movie could easily spoil the rest and I can imagine a lot of viewers give up after a while, I have to admit I had a hard time getting involved with any of the characters (again, this is probably what Cronenberg wants) but after a while a dark and depressing mood struck me, this feeling is amplified by the impending soundtrack which reminded me of the director’s 90’s classic Crash.

The strongest part of Cosmopolis is the final scene with a brilliant Paul Giamatti who was a former worker for Packer. The role Giamatti plays shows how much better an actor he is than Pattinson, but again, his lack of talent is not problematic at all, it is functional I would say. Some typical Cronenberg stuff and great dialogue makes a thrilling final. The director takes a risk with this film and balances on a thin line between (functional) dullness and making a philosophical statement about the future. For me it partly worked, but I will probably not watch it again soon….

7/10