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, Juliette Binoche, Sarah Gadon

3 wins & 12 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

On the spur of the moment, twenty-eight year old Manhattan self-made multi-billionaire Eric Packer decides he wants to get a haircut from his regular and longtime barber across town, a difficult journey today if only because of the traffic gridlock from three high profile but vastly different events taking place in the borough, including a wandering anarchist protest, they who largely use dead rats as their symbol of protest. Through his trek, Eric, most taking place in his stretch limousine, meets with several business associates - some with as esoteric job titles as Head of Theory - and personal acquaintances, including his several week bride, Elise, a wealthy woman in her own right with who he still has a somewhat distant relationship if only because they don't really know each other. The start of Eric's day ends much differently than the end as his personal fortune largely hinges on external forces in relation to a speculative currency transaction, and as he learns that someone is...

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Plot Keywords:

road movie | capitalism | manhattan new york city | haircut | protest | 

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Taglines:

How far can he go before he goes too far?

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Juliette Binoche: The Art of Being - Official Fansite Official site

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:

€330,899 (Italy), 27 May 2012, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$70,339, 19 August 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$743,636, 16 September 2012

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,063,556, 4 January 2013

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alfama Films,Prospero Pictures,Kinologic Films (DC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Cronenberg wrote the script in six days. He has admitted that when he converted the book into screenplay format on his computer, he realized it was so perfect that his only work was to separate dialogs from narration.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Torval: Where?
Eric Packer: I wanna a haircut.
Torval: The president's in town.
Eric Packer: We don't care. We need a haircut. We need to go crosstown.
Torval: You will hit traffic that speaks in quarter inches.
Eric Packer: Just so I know. Which president are we talking about?
Torval: United States. Barriers will be set up. Entire streets deleted from the map.
Eric Packer: Show me my car.

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

Referenced in From Stereo to Video (2014)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Genius

I recently saw this movie and loved it, I came onto to IMDb and was surprised to see it had some very unflattering reviews, I think that's because some people just didn't get it.

Yes the dialogue is contrived and strange, until you realise why.

The whole movie sounds like a poem because it is, the characters are inside out, instead of hearing their boasts we hear their thoughts and if you don't get that point, I can see how you would think this is a bad movie.

However when when you see the genius behind this creative device it all starts to make sense, thats why I'm giving this a decent score.

All in all the movie itself could be any other like it, the underlying theme rather wreaks of 'Collateral' but the turning of the whole movie into a poem and the way the characters introversions are extroverted, genius.

I liked it for that alone, it was a refreshing break from the staleness of forumlaic sensory diversion.

I didn't know it was a Cronenberg until I saw the credits at the end but when I saw that name, it made sense, he always had a thing for the weird and twisting the boundaries of perception.

In this he truly succeeded, even if the storyline itself doesn't stand up to scrutiny, the creativity of the concept has to be admired.