Cosmopolis (2012)

Riding across Manhattan in a stretch limo in order to get a haircut, a 28-year-old billionaire asset manager's day devolves into an odyssey with a cast of characters that start to tear his world apart.

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writers:

David Cronenberg (screenplay), Don DeLillo (novel)

Stars:

Robert Pattinson, Sarah Gadon, Juliette Binoche

3 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Pattinson	...	Eric Packer
Sarah Gadon	...	Elise Shifrin
Paul Giamatti	...	Benno Levin
Kevin Durand	...	Torval
Abdul Ayoola	...	Ibrahim Hamadou
Juliette Binoche	...	Didi Fancher
Emily Hampshire	...	Jane Melman
Bob Bainborough	...	Dr. Ingram
Samantha Morton	...	Vija Kinsky
Zeljko Kecojevic	...	Danko
Jay Baruchel	...	Shiner
Philip Nozuka	...	Michael Chin
Mathieu Amalric	...	André Petrescu
Patricia McKenzie	...	Kendra Hays
Ryan Kelly	...	Rat Man #1

Storyline

Riding across Manhattan in a stretch limo in order to get a haircut, a 28-year-old billionaire asset manager's day devolves into an odyssey with a cast of characters that start to tear his world apart.

---

Plot Keywords:

haircut | billionaire | woman on top | taxi driver | anarchist | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong sexual content including graphic nudity, violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

Canada France Portugal Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 May 2012 (France)

Also Known As:

Cosmópolis

Filming Locations:

Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$20,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$70,339 (USA) (17 August 2012)

Gross:

$743,636 (USA) (14 September 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alfama Films, Prospero Pictures, Kinology

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In one scene you see an electric sign shows, "A SPECTER IS HAUNTING THE WORLD. CAPITALISM." This is a take-off on "A specter is haunting Europe -- the specter of communism." which is the opening line of "The Communist Manifesto."

---

Quotes

Eric Packer: There's a poem I read in which a rat becomes the unit of currency.
Michael Chin: Yes, that would be interesting.
Eric Packer: Yeah, that would impact the world economy.
Michael Chin: The name alone, better than the dong or the kwacha.
Eric Packer: The name says everything.
Michael Chin: Yes. The rat.
Eric Packer: Yes, the rat close lower today against the euro.
Michael Chin: Yes, there's going concern that the Russian rat will be devalued.
Eric Packer: White rats, think about that.
Michael Chin: Yes, pregnant rats.
[...]

---

Crazy Credits

The final credits are inspired in ROTHKO's paintings which are part of the conversation between 'Juliet Binoche' (qv) and 'Robert Pattinson' (qv).

---

Connections

Referenced in Citizens of Cosmopolis (2012)

---

Soundtracks

"I Don't Want to Wake Up"
Written by Emily Haines , James Shaw , Howard Shore
Performed by Metric

User Reviews

Unpredictable absurd comedy, perfect midnight movie

"And a rat became the unit of currency."

I loved it, but it won't be for everyone. This is most definitely a midnight movie. It's a challenging and dense movie, not much of a plot, with the focus on lots of talking and long shots. A neo noir in looks and feel about corporations, capitalism, the future, rats as currency, and a highly philosophical, self-destructive corporate analyst of some clandestine organization simply called "Complex".

From the first shot to the last, you're always following Eric Packer (Robert Pattinson) in nearly every scene, so everything's seen from his perspective. It's mostly a single-location movie where Eric talks to random dudes related to his company or any woman in his white stretch cyber-pimped limo with an huge protest in the background. Oh man, it looks awesome and gets messed up over the course of the film. If you're a fan of David Mamet and Richard Linklater's works like Before Sunset, Waking Life, Glengarry Glen Ross, and especially Edmond (another great midnight neo- noir), you'll feel comfortable with the pacing. A lot of talking, one- takes, long takes, of people talking about very dense corporate details with not much sense that might go over your head in a first watch. It feels very much based off a play or novel where incredibly verbose characters pontificate about corporations, the world, and time in weirdly absurd conversations. But it's not a film where all those cinematic techniques are evident or shoved into your face, I just happened to notice he had been talking to a sweaty jogger of a mother who's also Eric's chief of finance while he had his prostate examined in his limo for 6 straight minutes.

Eric Packer is a cold, alienated, and highly self-destructive almost- sociopath who goes on about the philosophy of time, corporations, how the world works, violence, and any other topic. His character reminded me heavily of Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) in American Psycho, just without all the 90s pop culture and music references. The self-destructive and hedonistic urges of upper class socialites is evident in most Cronenberg movies, and Eric is no different. The dude's bored with the world, disillusioned, and is a thrill seeker just so he can feel real while he spends most of his time in a purgatory-like limo. Like most of these heavy talking movies, the plot is sparse and it's just Eric wants to get to a barber for a haircut which hints that it's an absurd satire/comedy. He's adamant of making the trek in his white cyber limo eternally stuck in New York traffic over a whole day that goes into night instead of just walking across the street which would only take 5 min. It's almost an absurd comedy at times, like having his prostate examined in his limo by his personal doctor while talking to someone, or he and Benno (Paul Giamatti) casually shooting up an apartment and at each other with futuristic guns in the weirdest Mexican standoff. How he's so stubborn about staying in his limo even though some big, distractive "imminent scenario" is about to happen. How funny it is people related to his Complex company just happen to see his limo and jump in for a long convo.

Robert Pattinson is a captivating actor to watch, and the camera is transfixed to his face even when it's cream-pied later on thanks to an anarchist protester or "pastry assassin" played by Mathieu Amalric (Quantum of Solace, Diving Bell and the Butterfly). There's another famous French actor here with Juliette Binoche (Certified Copy, Three Colors: Blue) playing a highly sexual 41 year old "friend". This is a challenging role for Pattinson, not really for the character he plays of an upper class corporate man, but how he spars against highly experienced, well-known actors in very long single takes or one-shots. Actors just acting a lot in that stage-y way. These actors seem to come and go with not much of an arc between their characters except for a couple, as is the case with most of these heavy talking movies more focused on the journey (Waking Life, Edmond).

It's a bizarre movie, one that will require quite a few re-watches just to get the nuances of the incredibly dense and fast flowing conversations. Also, the rat protesters reminded me of eXistenZ, and the film works almost as a counter-point to that movie where instead of the anarchists, we're on the side of corporate.

I can see some people not liking the movie just because of the pacing and heavy talking nature of it, but being in love with such midnight stage-y movies like Edmond, or talky Richard Linklater films I was not as confused. The verbose conversations can only have been based off a novel. Samantha Morton as Eric's "Chief of Theory" talks about stuff you won't understand on first watch, and is emblematic of how the film's dialog gives more than you can handle, which is why I can see Cosmopolis being ripe for rewatchability. It's really an absurd comedy and satire at times with a pretty serious and cool ending scene with Paul Giamatti. People who were expecting Cronenberg's early body horror might be disappointed although there are some choice moments, but the film's definitely in his older speculative techno sci-fi style.

"My prostate's asymmetrical."