Review of Naked Lunch (1991) by Danny R — 16 Dec 2011

A very bizarre and unique film by David Cronenberg who brings William S. Burrough's hallucinatory novel to the screen brilliantly, highly original and visually inventive but also disturbing and repulsive at times, this film is definitely not for all tastes.

A superlative lead performance by Peter Weller as William Lee a bug exterminator and writer who is addicted to the bug powder he uses on his job, he accidentally kills his wife superbly played by Judy Davis making him a fugitive from the police, his ramped use of the insecticide bug powder plunges him into a nightmarish netherworld of the interzone, where he becomes a secret agent, answering to the demands of his living bug typewriter.

The film is fraught with homo-erotic undertones, a undercurrent of the 1950s gay literary world, Cronenberg's visual sense is extraordinary he gives us surreal imagery that would only make sense to a junkie.

All of the supporting cast give exceptional performances they included Ian Holm, Julian Sands, Nicholas Campbell, Joseph Scorsiani, and the late Roy Scheider. Excellent cinematography by Peter Suschitzky and a very effective score by Howard Shore.

This is a memorable twisted odyssey. Highly Recommended.