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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Genres:

Drama

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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

Colin Farrell was originally cast but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with his movie Total Recall. He was replaced by Robert Pattinson.

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Quotes

Didi Fancher: Talent is more erotic when it's wasted.

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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).

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Mumford & Sons (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Mecca"
Lyrics by Don DeLillo and K'Naan
Performed by K'Naan

User Reviews

Casey's Movie Mania: COSMOPOLIS (2012)

Talky movies are always hard to pull off, especially those which deals with complex or dense subject matter. To make them interesting, it's always important to engage the viewers with captivating performance(s) and strong dialogues. This is no doubt a difficult test for director David Cronenberg. He's hardly known as a director who relies heavily on dialogue to tell his story. Actually he did attempt such approach before in last year's A DANGEROUS METHOD, but he failed miserably with his static direction. This time, he hits an all-time low in COSMOPOLIS -- a lifeless and painfully boring motion picture that even a die-hard art-house fans might find this a monumental waste of time.

Based on Don DeLillo's novel of the same name, the movie centers on a 28-year-old billionaire named Eric Packer (Robert Pattinson) who wants a haircut from his father's old barber. Even though his head of security, Torval (Kevin Durand) has warned him about the streets are currently jammed due to a visit by the President of the United States, an anti-capitalism riot and a funeral march of a famous hip-hop star, Packer insists on going ahead no matter what. And so he hops on his stretch limo and begins his long-winded journey. En route, he finds himself in a series of complications and meet some of the peoples he knows including his colleague Shiner (Jay Baruchel), distant wife Elise (Sarah Gadon), mistress Didi Fancher (Juliette Binoche), financial adviser Vija Kinsky (Samantha Morton) and many others. As the world is slowly collapsing around him, Packer eventually finds himself face to face with his own destined assassin, Benno Levin (Paul Giamatti).

Judging from the source material and especially the trailer that promotes the movie, it looks as if die-hard fans are in a treat for the good old David Cronenberg's bizarre trademark. Unfortunately what is shown in the entire movie is a different story altogether. Despite its timely plot that touches on the current financial crisis and many other topical subject matters, Cronenberg's adapted screenplay is all heavy dialogue but no substance. Seriously, this movie is a very frustrating movie to watch for. Characters are spend all the time talking, talking and talking but everything wanders around in the same circle aimlessly. The pace is so awfully slow to a standstill, that its 109-minute running time seems like forever.

No doubt David Cronenberg's typically cold direction doesn't fit well for this kind of talky movie. He's clearly out of his element here. Meanwhile, lead actor Robert Pattinson is fatally miscast as well. Originally intended for Colin Farrell (really?) but forced to withdraw because of scheduling conflicts, Pattinson's performance is as wooden as a piece of plank. There's hardly any personality behind his dead-eyed expression that makes him at least a worthwhile character to pay attention for. If Pattinson fares the worst, same goes to the supporting actors as well. Even with the presence of some highly-reliable actors like Juliette Binoche, Samantha Morton and Paul Giamatti, their performances are as uninteresting as they goes.

Visually, Cronenberg does insert a few moments of violence and strong sexual contents, but they are all gratuitous and feels patchy altogether.

Ultimately, I understand that Cronenberg tries to make a lot of statements here but unfortunately, the message doesn't get across. It's the kind of movie that drags on and on, but doesn't accomplish a single thing. Easily one of the worst movies of all-time.

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