[MacBlayne]

Originally Posted by nosferatu42

CRIMES OF THE FUTURE

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Went to see this at the cinema last night, noticed it finally arrived locally so was right on it, never seen a Cronenberg film at the cinema and never thought he'd go back to his roots after his recent films, so was hyped for this.

I really enjoyed it, if enjoyed is the word for a film featuring the murder and autopsy of a young kid, tattooed internal organs, mutant body parts and sexy surgery.

It's kind of a Cronenberg compendium, mixing in so many of his subjects from his early sci-fi horror output, mutated organs, inanimate objects that are organic hybrids, surgery, tv screens and media manipulation, and underground organisations.

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It's a slow moving, well acted, meditative piece that is heavy with intelligent dialogue and philosophical ideas, there's a lot of talk but i found it involving and fascinating. like a lot of Cronenberg films it moves at a slow steady pace building up atmosphere and mood.

I read some other peoples reviews when i got home and was digesting the film, norms seem to comment that it is building up to not much pay off, but that is the nature of a lot of Cronenberg films, like Naked Lunch, Dead Ringers, leaving us on a ponderous moment that leaves us thinking, rather than the excesses of Shivers, Scanners or the gun violence of Videodrome.

Indeed considering the plunge headfirst into the body that Crimes of the Future is there is hardly any actual splatter, Cronenberg views the body as complex, beautiful and fascinating but also disturbing.
Decay and pain is a big focus of the film with pain being almost a thing of the past, except for Viggo's character who uses the aforementioned Cronenbergian devices for pain relief.

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Anyway there you go, I thought it was really good, and there's a fair bit of nudity thrown in which shows along with the subject matter that DC is still not afraid to bare his soul, it's just as f***ed up as Crash or Videodrome, the only thing that's changed are the censors and general public as it's just as controversial.
Easily my favourite film of his since Existenz.

8/10

I was already hyped for this, but your review has made me more excited. I can't wait to watch this some day.

My first, and only, Cronenberg at the cinema was Eastern Promises. I liked it fair enough at the time, but thought it was lacking compared to A History of Violence.

Rewatching them years later reversed my opinion. AHoV is very good, but doesn't have much insight to say beyond "we're all capable of brutality." Cronenberg's direction and the acting elevate a solid, if basic screenplay.

EP is stunning. What happened was, I initially read

SPOILER:

Mortensen's undercover cop as a tragic hero, sacrificing his identity to take down the baddies. And while that is still there, what I noticed on rewatch was that Mortensen kinda likes it. He can engage in debased behaviour, but still say it's for the greater good. By the end, he is in a position of power. Only question is, will he do good, or exploit it to suit his inner depravity?