David Cronenberg, the film maker who showed us gross-out horror was not just empty-headed nonsense for idiots. The frustrated novelist whose films are so often smart and subversive. The would-be scientist and godfather of body horror who used graphic, physical shock tactics to explore his fascination with the physical self, identity and, later, societal notions. From 'Videodrome' to 'The Brood', 'Dead Ringers' to 'Crash', or later thrillers 'A History Of Violence' and 'Eastern Promises', he has always dealt with ideas in smart, unique, engaging ways, and forever retains the power to push buttons and disturb; you're hard pressed to watch a Cronenberg film and not note how uncompromising an approach the man has. Even amongst his most recent, more questionable work, there is a sincerity and ability to draw the best from his actors that is tough not to admire.
In short, David Cronenberg undoubtedly has his place as one of the most important auteur directors in cinema, and so it is with heavy heart I must say that the mighty has fallen a little, at least for now.
'Maps To The Stars', the second successive collaboration between Robert Pattinson and the director, is essentially a bitter swipe at the underbelly of Hollywood, much like David Lynch's 'Mulholland Drive', minus a lot of the surreal touch. It also feels like it began life, again like 'Mulholland Drive', as a TV soap-opera. Unlike said film, however, it lacks the necessary refinement of its ideas; with a genuine sense of having too much to say and character to develop, it collapses under its own weight and achieves neither goal. It is not without great scenes and incredible performances, notably from Juianne Moore, who looks like she's in practise for the next Darren Aronofsky nightmare, but the rest of the cast seem expendable, and the film is full of stilted dialogue and convoluted strands that end up going almost nowhere. The result is an apparently rushed, strangled mess of half-formed ideas; it is a frustrating work because one feels these is a great deal of potential along the way.
A director who is usually so thorough and exciting, Cronenberg has produced here a surprisingly tepid piece that does not stick as it should. To his credit, he retains a "one step removed" approach, presenting something dark and horrific without ever inviting you to leer at it, but nevertheless, this is a frustratingly unsatisfying movie, lacking cohesion and any real fruition. I may be in a minority in saying this, but at least 'Cosmopolis' was a fully, patiently realised piece, which FELT like it was complete, even if very few people truly "got it". 'Maps To The Stars' lacks that sense of completion.
I wait patiently for another Cronenberg masterpiece, which I'm sure will come. It's not this.
In short, David Cronenberg undoubtedly has his place as one of the most important auteur directors in cinema, and so it is with heavy heart I must say that the mighty has fallen a little, at least for now.
'Maps To The Stars', the second successive collaboration between Robert Pattinson and the director, is essentially a bitter swipe at the underbelly of Hollywood, much like David Lynch's 'Mulholland Drive', minus a lot of the surreal touch. It also feels like it began life, again like 'Mulholland Drive', as a TV soap-opera. Unlike said film, however, it lacks the necessary refinement of its ideas; with a genuine sense of having too much to say and character to develop, it collapses under its own weight and achieves neither goal. It is not without great scenes and incredible performances, notably from Juianne Moore, who looks like she's in practise for the next Darren Aronofsky nightmare, but the rest of the cast seem expendable, and the film is full of stilted dialogue and convoluted strands that end up going almost nowhere. The result is an apparently rushed, strangled mess of half-formed ideas; it is a frustrating work because one feels these is a great deal of potential along the way.
A director who is usually so thorough and exciting, Cronenberg has produced here a surprisingly tepid piece that does not stick as it should. To his credit, he retains a "one step removed" approach, presenting something dark and horrific without ever inviting you to leer at it, but nevertheless, this is a frustratingly unsatisfying movie, lacking cohesion and any real fruition. I may be in a minority in saying this, but at least 'Cosmopolis' was a fully, patiently realised piece, which FELT like it was complete, even if very few people truly "got it". 'Maps To The Stars' lacks that sense of completion.
I wait patiently for another Cronenberg masterpiece, which I'm sure will come. It's not this.