Review of Cosmopolis (2012) by Arif B — 03 Nov 2012

Young billionaire, Eric Packer, wants to get a haircut. It's on a day of unrest. The poor are protesting while he journey's across town in his stretch limo. His world is closed off from the chaos. He has a wife that he's been married to for a few weeks and they don't seem to connect. They're marriage is obviously built around themselves as rich people who get married for the sake it. Eric tries to connect with his wife, Elise, but his ego and unfaithful attitude cupped with his dickhead persona isn't exactly romantic. He wants to consummate the marriage, but Elise is old fashioned and doesn't want just sex. She's sophisticated and more moral than he is considering that she likes to hide from the world. He on the other hand doesn't want to hide and wants, I think, to go down with the ship.

Eric has made a financial move which causes him to lose money by the second. As he loses money, he chit chats and sleeps with several people: members of his staff, his mistress, his security guard. They all provide philosophical views on his predicament. His descend into complete darkness sends him back to his childhood neighborhood where he gets his haircut by an old barber he met when he was a child. As the world begins to descend into it's own darkness, Eric must contend with the inevitability of death when he confronts in his final hours his own assassin.

Every character in this film thinks they know things, but they don't know what any of it means. Neither do we as we watch this film go on. What are we to make of it? Why are things so out of order in the world? Many people have called out this film as being dull, piece of crap or just one of the worst films ever made. I can see why some would think that since it isn't very easy to understand or even like. It's not terribly hard to understand the second or third time you watch it. The first time I thought it was very different from anything I've seen this year. Then the second time I started to understand it better and see the complexities in the abstract dialogue. Because one thing this film is not is coherent, but that is okay. Sometimes things shouldn't be spelled out to people all the time. Think of a David Lynch film without the abstract images, but with abstract dialogue instead.

Robert Pattinson does an excellent job. If you have doubts about his acting then you need to see him in this. I had my doubts and boy did he prove me wrong. Cronenberg still is true to form with his bizarre antics that include a prostate exam that I found to be erotic. He always can find ways to make the gross out to be seductive. I love that about his work.

If you're looking for something completely different, try this film. If you don't like it or hate it for what it is than go watch something else.