Cosmopolis

Meaning in life
*Contains Spoilers*

I read this book when Robert Pattinson signed on to the project, and to be honest, I didn't like it on the first reading. It grew on me by the second reading, but the movie made me love it. One of the challenges Cosmopolis faces is that it's impossible complete the phrase, "The moral of the story is...." and so many people, me included, dislike things that can't be easily defined. I've seen interviews with David Cronenberg and Robert Pattinson where they say that it is impossible to tell you what they story is about, but don't make the mistake of thinking that it's about nothing, it's just about open to so many interpretations that it's impossible to pin down. I'll give you mine, but rest assured that if you don't like what I see, chances are you'll see something else entirely anyway.

The story, in it's most basic form, is about Eric Packer's limo ride across the crowded city to get a haircut. He encounters various people and scenarios...

I wanted to like this movie, but...
Let me state upfront that I am generally a big fan of Canadian director David Cronenberg, even though his movies are hits and misses, but even in the misses, Cronenberg seems to bring a unique persepctive.

"Cosmopolis" (2012 release; 109 min.) brings the story of Eric Packer (played by Robert Pattison), a 28 yr. old financial Wall Street whiz kid who uses his stretch limousine pretty much as his office, and we see the limo driving in New York towards his barber as Packer needs to get a haircut. Several events intervene, and that is when things starts to unravel, seemingly without sense or purpose.

Several comments: to tell you that I am bewildred, and disappointed, by this movie, would be an understatement. Characters come and go, and it's hard to understand why. Juliette Binoche, who gets 2nd star lining in the movie just below Pattison, appears out of nowhere having sex with Packer in the limo and is in the movie for all of about 10 min. or so. Then there are...

A Day In The Life: Love It Or Hate It, Cronenberg's Latest Provocation Is A Unique Intellectual Exercise
From the strange to the sublime, few filmmakers have fascinated me more than David Cronenberg. The Canadian auteur has made some of my all time favorites, and his distinctive sense of macabre humor and his skewed world view is in evidence even in his most mainstream work. With a string of great films that included Scanners, Videodrome, The Dead Zone, The Fly and Dead Ringers, he earned a nickname (a personal favorite) as the King of Venereal Horror. But not to limit himself to genre work, he also scored accolades for his interpretation of Naked Lunch, A History of Violence, and Eastern Promises. I love Cronenberg in case you couldn't tell! Even his less successful pictures courted big ideas (Existenz, Spider) and/or great shock value (Crash). Say what you will, Cronenberg makes the films he wants to make and to heck with anyone else! I have to respect that. That is a large preface to discussing his latest effort "Cosmopolis," which in my estimation is a film that will elicit...

Click to Editorial Reviews