Crimes Of The Future

Surgeons can cut out everything except cause.

Herbert M. Shelton

Review

Crimes Of The Future, by David Cronenberg.

My rating: 2/5.

A Hollow Future

What the hell... I’m not sure what I just watched. Somehow, in the future, pain has been eliminated. As a result, people derive all sorts of pleasure from the act of surgery. Cosmetic surgery, organ transplants, et cetera.

From the director of The Fly, Jason X, and many more, we get a movie that is a bit too on the nose. I would like to call it satire, which it clearly attempts to be, but I felt like it was spelled out for me before I could make my own decision.

The cinematography was great, the soundtrack was decent albeit repetitive, and the concept itself was extremely creative. I believed the world Cronenberg created was real and terrible to be a part of.

Victims Of Writing

Viggo Mortenson and Lea Seydoux felt like victims of bad writing to me. There were funny moments, highlighted by Kristen Stewart’s performance as “Temlin”. But these moments were ruined by the numerous philosophical monologues given by characters. I’m not sure if Cronenberg (the director) doubted his audience’s intelligence, or if this was a ploy to add to the satirical elements of the film. If it was the latter, it made an already “meta” movie a bit tiring.

The writing felt forced, the movie was graphic, but it didn’t really keep my attention. I wasn’t sure where the plot was headed, and I didn’t walk out with any new insights or interesting thoughts. I walked out of the movie glad to be done and over with it.

Funnily enough, it’s not Cronenberg’s first film with the same name. That being said, his film from 1970 carries a completely different plot and is classified as a “comedy”, although the disturbing synopsis didn’t quite convince me.

Shock Factor

Before watching, I read that some viewers walked out during the Cannes screening. I’m not sure why they did so, but if I had to guess: it wasn’t the shock factor, it was boredom.

I don’t feel like it’s my place to dissuade others from seeing a movie, and I’m glad that movies like this are produced, but I’m not sure who this movie was made for. Probably Cronenberg.