Cosmopolis
Dir: David Cronenberg
2012
****
Cosmopolis is now the third film I have watched and then watched all over again straight afterwards. Needless to say I'm dog tired this morning after staying up well past my bed time but it was worth it. Don DeLillo's post modern Jazz-like style of writing is pretty abstract but his exploration of modern themes; consumerism, corruption, the media and the diseases of society are brilliantly written and have been brilliantly visualised by Cronenberg. DeLillo's work has been criticised as being overly stylised and intellectually shallow but then not everybody likes Jazz. Cronenberg has been similarly criticised over the years, although in my opinion his best films have been overlooked and his worst has been shockingly overpraised. It's hard not to compare this film to Naked Lunch, a cult novel that also wasn't highly regarded upon release but soon gathered recognition. Cronenberg truly did film the unfilmable and yet the film remains a cult favourite and is relatively unwatched by younger viewers. The stories are different but they share similarities, existentialism, abstract expressionism and both provoke and manipulate. They certainly see the world in a different way, the only difference is that DeLillo wasn't on drugs, he knows what he's saying as does Cronenberg. Cronenberg has taken another brave step in adapting this film which was always going to be misunderstood and dare I say poorly marketed. I have no doubt it's a future classic and a strong piece of intellectual thinking. I'm going to be honest though, it's at times a little dull and at times a lot dull but perseverance is key, the explosive scene of brilliantly written dialogue between Robert Pattinson and Paul Giamatti is great cinema and worth watching for alone. It is abstract but at the same time it's a very savvy look at society that is hard,and would be stupid to ignore. I dig it but it's all about the book for me, my rating is based on good acting, some smart visuals but mainly because of Cronenberg's balls/guts and original cinema.