an existential psychotropic trip
David Cronenberg, much like colleague David Lynch, is an acquired taste. A
director who plays with themes like reality, perversion, sex, insanity and
death, is bound to get the most extreme reations from audiences. He proved
this with films as The Fly, Naked Lunch, Crash and eXitenZ (capital X,
capital Z) and more recently, Spider. It's best to see eXistenZ with a
clear
mind. Try not to read too much about the plot, or it'll be ruined for you.
What I can tell you is that Cronenberg takes you on a trip down into the
world of videogames that acts as a metaphor for any kind of escapist
behaviour. Living out fantasies is something people always dream of, but
how
far can you go into it, before reality gets blurred and the fantasy takes
over and turns into a nightmare? Those are the themes touched in eXistenZ,
an exploration of identity, the human psyche, physical bodies being
invaded
by disease and most importantly, reality itself.
The story and directing are excellent. Cronenberg knows his trade very
well
and succesfully brings to life an artificial world, avoiding the usual
pitfalls and clichés linked to stories such as this. The film shows some
pretty disgusting stuff, but is unusually low-key in the gore department
in
comparison to Cronenbergs other work. The shock effects he plays on are
never over the top and the plot progression is very intelligent and
creative. It's not the most intellectual movie ever, but it will leave you
thinking about it, wondering and pretty confused.
The acting gets two thumbs up as well. Both protagonists, Jennifer Jason
Leigh and Jude Law, play their parts perfectly and cleverly portray their
character's shifting moods and identities. The dialogue may seem a little
stale and clinical at times, but that is part of the effect Cronenberg was
going for, to create a disaffected and alien atmosphere that puts you
quite
at unease. Supporting actors as Ian Holm, Don McKellar and an especially
creepy Willem Dafoe lift the movie even higher with their disturbingly
familiar performances.
This movie takes some getting used to, but if you can appreciate the dark
tone, blood-curdeling imagery and existentially warping story, you'll love
it.
Personal| Seen it: | Ja |
| Nr of disks/tapes: | 2 |
| Storage device: | Divx 5 |
 |
Loan
