Cosmopolis (*** out of ****)

David Cronenberg never shies away from a challenge. The director has made maddening films from The Fly, Crash all the way to Naked Lunch. His past three films while still deeply thought provoking, were rather tame for the director. Cosmopolis is almost a return to his origins but is something new at the same time. Claiming to be the first film to describe the new decade it is a philosophical and controversial look at those in charge, the 1%

The film stars Robert Pattinson as Eric Packer in a departure from his usual area of film. Cold, intelligent, and sly, Pattinson proves his acting skills. Cronenberg's work with him reminds me of what the director did for Jeremy Irons with Dead Ringers (Minus the iconic performance). Eric Packer spends a rather unusual day moving around a city in his modified limousine. Traffic is at a near standstill allowing Eric do conduct meetings in the back of the limo. He meets analyzers, executives and even stops to eat with his new frigid wife (a ghostly Sarah Gadon). Eric has made a wild bet against the Chinese Yuan and is losing money by the tons. The city meanwhile is in chaos in a mad attempt to stall the future.

Cosmopolis is a mess, but a brilliant and fascinating one. The film has scenes that seem unintentionally hilarious, but that might not be true either. It is intellectually simplistic in design yet still it is easy to miss 1/4 of what is said. It's hard to pick out just what to focus on as a theme. However the film is ambitious and that is very admirable. It's very well acted, containing actors such as Paul Giamatti, Juliet Binoche, Samantha Morton and others. The dialogue and exchange between actors is often hypnotic. What can be deciphered from the plot is that the world is falling part and blames the 1%. People are scarred of the future and act animalistic to keep the world from advancing. I'm not sure how multiple viewing will help this film, I think I learned most of what it offered the first time. However just because the film is sinful in nature, doesn't mean I won't enjoy seeing it again.

*** out of ****