Spider (David Cronenberg, 2002)
Cronenberg's low-key, but haunting treatment of mental illness begins slowly but gradually draws you into the story of a man nicknamed Spider (Ralph Fiennes) who's released from a mental hospital and enters a halfway house run by Mrs. Wilkinson (Lynn Redgrave). The halfway house is populated by many disturbed men; in fact, the only discernable difference between the "house" and a "hospital" is that there is no treatment in the "house". Spider is able to function at a seemingly-higher level than the other ex-patients though, and soon, he's roaming the streets of his hometown from twenty years ago, just about the time his psychosis first appeared when he was a boy. In fact, Spider begins to "see" not only himself as a boy (played by Bradley Hall) 20 years earlier, but his hard-drinking father (Gabriel Byrne) and housewife mother (Miranda Richardson). And then, there's that blonde tramp (also Miranda Richardson) who may be trying to steal the husband or may not even be real at all...
Like many of Cronenberg's films,
Spider is open to interpretation and undoubtedly rewards added viewings for those who are able to get past the slow pace and the depressing surroundings. Cronenberg doesn't really make easy films, and this one begins especially "difficultly", but things begin to clarify about 30-40 minutes in and it becomes more interesting. The best parts to me are trying to determine which parts are real, which parts are imagined and which parts could even be both. I also liked the fact that Spider kept a journal of everything which went on in his day-to-day life, but since it's written in some original language of his own making, no one can understand it except for himself. It's similar to the way that Spider often mumbles something which the viewer cannot understand because it's either too low in volume or doesn't even seem to be real words. Some people may not understand and care about
Spider while others will "enjoy" it for probably the same reasons. I probably fall somewhere in the middle ground.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Philip Kaufman, 1978)
Thirty years ago when I saw this on the humongous Big Newport screen, I just wasn't impressed. I'm not sure what my problem was. I was never that big a fan of the original, true, but I was having a hard time empathisizing any more with the lead characters than I did with the pod people. Three decades and several viewings later, I can safely say I was full of it back then. This film may actually qualify to me as the ultimate paranoid thriller. Everything is in place. The shiny photography, the dark shadows, the killer sound effects, the scary music (actually, I'd probably tone down some of the music because it's the quietest parts which are the scariest). I like the performances and the black humor, as well as just the weird touches, like Robert Duvall's "priest" swinging in a children's playground.
To me, this is Kaufman's first full-blown success, and if he was ahead of me in the power curve, at least I could see it just a short while later. I thought he went even more into paranoia and dark comedy with his next film,
The Wanderers, but that's for another post. This film is pretty-much textbook, as far as basically showing you what's happening, then slowly allowing only one character (Brooke Adams) to know about it. Nobody believes her, but eventually a group of three others (Donald Sutherland, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright) are forced to believe her because they cannot deny their own eyes, no matter how much pop psychiatrist Leonard Nimoy tries to rationalize away everything "paranoid". That's enough for now, but be sure to watch for Sutherland's friend's dog near the end.
Next (Lee Tamahori, 2007)
I barely even remember this flick being released, but it came on cable a couple of hours ago when I felt a desire to put my feet up, so I watched the beginning, and it kept me moderately interested enough to keep watching for an hour and a half. Nicolas Cage is a clairvoyant, masquerading as a magician, who was born with the gift (or is it curse?) to see about two minutes into the future involving his personal life. However, there is a mystery woman (Jessica Biel) whom he's never met, who he's apparently able to see further into the future, although for what reason isn't clear. Well, Cage is thrown into the middle of a plot by unknown terrorists who seem to want to blow up a nuke in Southern California (shades of "
24") and the FBI, led by field agent Julianne Moore, who are trying to stop them. For some reason, both groups seem to understand that some two-bit Las Vegas magician is the key for them to succeed.
Based on a Philip K. Dick story,
Next is probably best at setting up the story, no matter how preposterous it may be, since it's fast-paced and doesn't take itself too seriously. There's even a stretch near the beginning which recalls the scene in Dick's
Minorty Report where Samantha Morton's pre-cog is able to keep her and Tom Cruise one step ahead of the authorities. There is also some wonderful scenery shot in and around the Grand Canyon. Eventually, the film becomes a little less interesting, but not enough for me to turn it off. Of course, there's a big twist near the end which makes it almost seem like the movie could have gone in an infinite number of directions and still ended up in the same place. I don't especially like that sort of scripting, but in this case, it probably doesn't matter too much to anybody who's likely to watch it.
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