Eastern Promises (2007)

Eastern Promises (2007)

Dir. David Cronenberg

Ordinarily, I prefer it when an actor is of the same nationality as the character they're playing onscreen; e.g., if a protagonist is supposed to be Scottish, then hire an actual Scot. It's especially beneficial in biopics, or when the character isn't a native English speaker in an English language setting.

Casting someone who understands on a fundamental level the culture that they're portraying allows an actor to tap into the unconscious influence that thinking in one's native language brings. If successful, it can permeate the performance and even accentuate or enrich any traits, nuances, etc, that can be consciously observed in specific nationalities. It's basic common sense.

But sometimes an actor can be so good in a role that such concerns are almost forgotten about when viewing. Viggo as a fictional Russian mobster in Cronenberg's Eastern Promises is on that list. It's his second collaboration with the director and it tops their first in every way.

A History of Violence (2005)

A History of Violence (2005)

Dir. David Cronenberg

An adaptation of John Wagner and Vince Locke's 1997 comic book of the same name, which I've not read, at time of writing.

It's a slow burning drama about what happens to an Indiana family unit when one member's violent past catches up with them, despite a sincere attempt to leave it behind.

Themes of identity and safety are also explored, as the family discover that once a door to such behaviour is unwillingly opened, there's no reliable way to control the route it takes or the people that it touches.

Viggo Mortensen is excellent in his role as a small town diner owner who must respond to something bigger. It marked a turning point in his career - or maybe just in how I saw him. Prior to working with Cronenberg, he had nothing special, to speak of. Thereafter, he delivered a string of strong performances.

Chacun son Cinéma (2007)

Chacun son Cinéma (2007)

English Translation: To Each His Own Cinema

An anthology that contains over thirty short films by as many different directors, commissioned to celebrate six decades of the Cannes Film Festival. Each work is approximately three minutes in length and was supposed to represent the director's "state of mind [...] as inspired by the motion picture theatre." I'll put the full list of contributors below the cut for anyone that wants to view them all.

My 'Admit One' was for Takeshi Kitano and David Cronenberg, neither of which turned out to be essential. The ones that moved me most were Alejandro Iñárritu's 'Anna' and Abbas Kiarostami's 'Where is my Romeo?', both of which had more emotion than the others combined. Also, I really liked Chen Kaige's 'Zhanxiou Village'.

A lot of them take place inside a theatre with crucial scenes from actual films being projected onscreen, so be prepared for some spoilers.

Spider (2002)

Spider (2002)

Dir. David Cronenberg

An often overlooked film from the Canadian director that absolutely deserves more attention than it currently receives, for a number of reasons but mostly because of Ralph Fiennes' powerful performance as the titular Spider character.

Spider's (often incomprehensible) dialogue characterises him, as you'd expect, but perhaps an even more important avenue into his state of mind are his mannerisms, clothes, and even his stained fingers, all of which are an exquisite commentary on what's beneath the surface.

The Becket-esque halfway house in which the secretive Spider is placed has a nearby factory that looms in an almost Ballardian way. The two different literary styles work visually as one thanks to Cronenberg's ability to make them feel as if they truly deserve each other.

eXistenZ (1999)

eXistenZ (1999)

Dir. David Cronenberg

I hope it isn't but it's possible that the film is Cronenberg's final full-on venture into the 'body-horror' genre that he excelled in. It contains within it many elements that fans of his earlier works will be familiar with, including the weird character names and sharp angled Canadian architecture, as if to say this is where the past ends, I'm moving onto genres new afterwards.

It has a lot in common with Videodrome (1983), not just thematically, but in other ways, and as such I'd definitely recommend a thorough viewing of Videodrome before sitting down to eXistenZ.

It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh as a VR video game designer named Allegra Geller. A player of Allegra's games experiences a different reality, literally. They become a character in the game.
Players of eXistenZ aren't sat in front of a screen or fed imagery through a lens in a headset, through biotechnology they're inserted into a functioning three-dimensional world that's as real to them as the one we collectively call reality.

Crash (1996)

Crash (1996)

Dir. David Cronenberg

Open marriage couple James and Catherine Ballard (James Spader and Deborah Kara Unger) have an active but unrewarding sex life together. A series of unplanned events introduce and lure the duo into a bizarre subculture of people who fetishise car crashes. The activities undertaken are consensual within the group, but their hidden world is hazardous to our world.

Reading the J.G. Ballard novel (1973) upon which Crash is based wasn't much fun for me, but it was essential to understanding the otherwise impenetrable aspects of the film. Somehow Cronenberg translated the insipid moments into filmic intensity.

He distorts the traditional role of the viewer by putting us too close for comfort, turning viewer into voyeur - a position of distanced participation. It's uncomfortable and I believe the main reason that most people shy away from even discussing the film in public. It's a shame, because it's a powerful work with some outstanding acting, but it'll take a very open-minded person to see past the taboo wall.

Dead Ringers (1988)

Dead Ringers (1988)

Dir. David Cronenberg

When Cronenberg helms a story about identical twin gynaecologists who specialise in treating female fertility problems and who share their patients and their lovers, you would expect to find an uncomfortable mixture of sexual practices with clinical ones.

And you will, but Dead Ringers goes to even deeper levels of unease. The pair live an ordered lifestyle, are outwardly confident, professional and well-respected by their peers, but it's the twofold shadow cast by the privacy of their complex relationship that the viewer needs to pay close attention to. 

Like in a single body or organism, when an interdependent part falls out of sync with its connecting organs, malady occurs.

British actor Jeremy Irons is amazing in a dual role, skilfully feeding himself emotional triggers and responding to the same situation, sometimes in two very different ways.

The Dead Zone (1983)

The Dead Zone (1983)

Dir. David Cronenberg

After Videodrome (1983) people probably expected another surreal and icky feature from Cronenberg, but instead he gave us an adaptation of a 1979 Stephen King novel called The Dead Zone. It's a not a horror, but nor is it a straightforward drama; it's more of an eerie thriller with a supernatural slant.

Christopher Walken stars as a schoolteacher named Johnny Smith. Johnny is a nice guy; if Fate had allowed him to continue along his preferred path then he'd probably have got married, fathered two or three kids, remained a teacher for the next thirty years before retiring and spending his remaining autumns raking leaves off his perfect lawn, or something equally as mundane. Maybe he'd even use his knowledge of literature to write a book, something academic that would continue his legacy of teaching into the next generation? But Fate didn't allow any of that to happen. Fate introduced Johnny to Tragedy and his life thereafter is drastically changed.

Scanners Trilogy (1981-92)

Scanners (1981)

Dir. David Cronenberg

The eponymous individuals are able to kill with just a thought, and the film wastes no time in showing us one of them in action.

When a powerful corporation that wishes to control the Scanners no longer can, they need the help of a Scanner to stop the others. Yay for dramatic irony! It's kind of like needing your glasses to find your glasses, with the added danger that your glasses can telepathically kill you any time they like.

Patrick McGoohan is excellent as the fatherly psychopharmacist; Michael Ironside is unquestionably good as a menace; but, I'm sorry to say, while Stephen Lack did okay as a lost soul, he didn't have the acting experience at the time to make the inner conflict of the lead role hit as hard as it needed to.

If you're familiar with Cronenberg's early works, such as Stereo (1969) and Crimes of the Future (1970), you'll recognise trace elements of their structure in the film's settings and concerns, helped along by a budget that frees the production from being tied to an institute environment.

The Brood (1979)

The Brood (1979)

Dir. David Cronenberg

A film that explores the manifestations of human rage and the violent impact it has on society, in particular the family unit.

Nothing about the story is conventional, even if on the surface it might seem to be.

It’s a candid blend of autobiographical realism and fantastical psychological horror that turns the intimate into something terrifyingly perverse, as only David Cronenberg can.

Professional drunk Oliver Reed is perfectly cast as a doctor who dabbles in some rather odd therapy techniques. His primary subject, Samantha Eggar, gives a performance that will shock and repulse most viewers.

I shudder to think how Rule 34 might apply.

Rabid (1977)

Rabid (1977)

Dir. David Cronenberg

Cronenberg’s fascination with body modification gone awry continued with Rabid, this time centred around a plastic surgery clinic and a crash victim.

It’s similar to his previous film Shivers (1975) both visually and in that the horror is again something normal that’s become abnormal, and when viewed from the other perspective it’s something new embracing life, but it’s not as unsettling as Shivers was and the ridiculous premise is hard to swallow, even for a fan of his work like I am.

I kept thinking while viewing that the story, although written by the director, would've better suited George Romero's talents. It's not a bad film, but not one of my favourites.

Shivers (1975)

Shivers (1975)

aka: Frissons / The Parasite Murders / They Came from Within

Dir. David Cronenberg

Shivers is crude and suffers from some clunky pacing in the middle section, but the imagination and the sense of dread that it manages to exude help raise it up.

It's set in a modern high rise building that claims to be largely self-sufficient. It has shops, a public pool and even its own resident doctor and nurse. Being situated close to the city but still far enough away that it feels isolated is something that the story uses to its advantage.

By existing within a host building that's built for perfect human living and convenience, the residents create a perfect breeding ground for a new kind of life to thrive.

Videodrome (1983) : Arrow Video Limited Edition (2015)

Videodrome (1983)

Dir. David Cronenberg

Seeing is believing. Until we see something in its physical aspect then its reality is questionable.

What then of television? The device is visible but the transmission invisible. The pictures enter our mind the same way as everything else, but their 'reality' can be entirely fictitious. Sure, we're programmed to know the difference, but what if the programming changes or the difference slips away? Is seeing really believing, then?

By the same token, at what point does violent sex become sexual violence? When does flesh and distinction cease to follow the accepted rules?

Torture. Murder. Mutilation. Videodrome.

Director David Cronenberg's masterpiece.