I love David Cronenberg. I truly do. His films are twisted, bizarre, and a lot of fun. Crash
is a favorite; this isn't the 2005 Oscar winner, but an exploration of sexual deviancy through the eroticism of car wrecks, and a metaphor for humanity's obsession with technology.
Videodrome
question's humanity's obsession with violence and the media in the form of a sickening body-horror; sixteen years later he made
eXistenZ
, which, though unrelated, makes for a very interesting companion piece.
I could go on, but we are concerned today with his new film
, which is especially exciting because it is based on a novel by Don DeLillo (currently this writer's favorite author). Normally one who loves a book is wary of any sort of film adaptation, in fear of inadequate translation. The beauty of DeLillo, though, is the ideas presented in his novels, and Cronenberg has a skilled enough hand that one can presume only the best things for this film.
At its heart, the story behind
Cosmopolis
is quite simple. Robert Pattinson (who may actually have a promising post-
Twilight
career) stars as Eric Packer, a brilliant young billionaire who made his fortune trading on the yen. He wakes up in the morning and decides to get a haircut, and the narrative follows his adventures traveling through the city, his interactions with a stunning cast of characters, and encounters with an intensely relevant-feeling economic protest (especially impressive as the novel was written in the 1980s).
Cosmopolis
opens this weekend as the newest installment in the Village 8 Louisville Exclusive series. It is scheduled to run for one week, ending on Thursday, September 27 (but these things often get extended). Village 8 is located at 4014 Dutchmans Lane. Further theater information and showtimes can be found at the Village 8 website.
Image: Internet Movie Database