Spider (2002)

A mentally-disturbed man takes residence in a halfway house. His mind gradually slips back into the realm created by his illness, where he replays a key part of his childhood.

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writers:

Patrick McGrath (novel), Patrick McGrath

Stars:

Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne

12 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ralph Fiennes	...	Spider
Miranda Richardson	...	Yvonne / Mrs. Cleg
Gabriel Byrne	...	Bill Cleg
Lynn Redgrave	...	Mrs. Wilkinson
John Neville	...	Terrence
Bradley Hall	...	Spider Boy
Gary Reineke	...	Freddy
Philip Craig	...	John
Cliff Saunders	...	Bob
Tara Ellis	...	Nora
Sara Stockbridge	...	Gladys
Arthur Whybrow	...	Ernie
Nicola Duffett	...	Barmaid
Jake Nightingale	...	Large Man
Alison Egan	...	Flashing Yvonne

Storyline

Dennis Clegg is in his thirties and lives in a halfway house for the mentally ill in London. Dennis, nicknamed "Spider" by his mother has been institutionalized with acute schizophrenia for some 20 years. He has never truly recovered, however, and as the story progresses we vicariously experience his increasingly fragile grip on reality.

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Plot Keywords:

halfway house | reality | schizophrenia | key | spider | 

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Taglines:

Watashi no haha wa korosareta [Japan]

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, brief violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Canada UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 December 2002 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Pajak

Filming Locations:

Cinespace Film Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$189,350 (USA) (28 February 2003)

Gross:

$1,641,788 (USA) (25 July 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Odeon Films, Capitol Films, Artists Independent Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 94 min (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Samuel Beckett was one of the director's touchstones for the film. Photographs of the playwright were pinned around the sets, and Fiennes' hairstyle is even modeled after Beckett's.

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Goofs

Shadow on the road just before Spider gets the rope from the construction site.

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Quotes

Spider: [turning in a shard of glass from the smashed door] I... I found this...
Psychiatrist: [we see the reconstructed panel on a desk] Ah, yes. We've been looking for that one...

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Connections

References Taxi Driver (1976)

User Reviews

Arachnophobic

SPIDER (2003) *** Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne, Bradley Hall, Lynn Redgrave, John Neville. Filmmaker David Cronenberg does it again : mixing psychological drama with Gothic mystery with the cloak of violence in the air with Fiennes (in a brilliantly mannered near mute turn) as the titular character, a schizophrenic recently released to a halfway house, nicknamed in his youth by his mother (Richardson who gives an excellent turn to the third power; she inhibits three interlaced roles that act as the story's linchpin) for his cat's cradle yarn confections which sends his scattershot memories into overdrive as he attempts to connect the missing pieces of his life. Told in intersperses of flashback Cronenberg expertly uses his persuasive powers of dread eke out the thin plottings of Patrick McGrath's novel – who adapted the screenplay too – that can tax on the nerves in long, baroque stretches of near silence. Dank, rotting production design by Andrew Sanders, excellently lensed by Peter Suschitzky and the chamber music-like score by Howard Shore makes the most of its broken-minded protagonist's living nightmare.