Review of Maps to the Stars (2014) by Jarek M — 09 Dec 2014

David Cronenberg's new film is far from his best work, but it is a step into the right direction after a streak of mainly bland films (Spider, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises and the atrocious Cosmopolis).

Maps to the Stars is a pitch-black satire about contemporary Hollywood that presents the place as some sort of hyper-reality full of disgusting people who don't behave like real human beings at all, with Robert Pattinson's character being the only somewhat rational character.

Behind all its glamour, Hollywood is an infernal abyss full of drugs, deceit, broken relationships and elusive dreams. That is the point the film tries to make, and Cronenberg truly does convey it. But it is a point that has been conveyed before, by the Coen brothers, Robert Altman as well as David Lynch among others, and it is really everything the film has to offer.

In the manner of all Cronenberg films since Spider, Maps to the Stars is too distant and perverted to truly hook the viewer in. His direction is masterful as usual, but Bruce Wagner's screenplay has so many impentrably bizarre elements that in the end, the film becomes a complete mess, and it would have needed much more macabre humor, which it now has very sparingly.

If it has something unforgettable, it is the actors; Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, Olivia Williams, Pattinson and newcomer Evan Bird all deliver fine work, but the show is, as usual, stolen by Julianne Moore, who gives yet another triumphant and courageous performance in what is possibly the most unpleasant role of her career.

And the film does deserve some superlatives; if The Wolf of Wall Street was the filthiest and raunchiest film of 2013, Maps to the Stars is that in 2014. Some scenes may have you retching.