Crimes of the Future
Crimes of the Future
Starring Viggo Mortensen, Lea Seydoux, Kristen Stewart, Scott Speedman
Directed by David Cronenberg
Starring Viggo Mortensen, Lea Seydoux, Kristen Stewart, Scott Speedman
Directed by David Cronenberg
The name David Cronenberg is synonymous with "body horror" filmmaking - films that focus on visceral bodily transformations, offering unnerving visuals while also incorporating psychological theology with physical unease that burrows into your mind like a tick. Films like "Scanners," "Videodrome," eXistenZ," and "The Fly" are some of his masterful handiwork, but he's also branched out into more mainstream films like "A History of Violence," "Eastern Promises," and "A Dangerous Method." Through it all, though, there lies hints in all his films that point to the master creator, a role that he's since passed down to his equally talented son Brandon in his stunning 2020 debut "Possessor." 1999's "eXistenZ" was his last journey to the body horror genre, but after a long hiatus he's returned to what made him a filmmaking dynamo with "Crimes of the Future," and while there's moments that showcase his sheer brilliance, they're unfortunately not as often as I would've liked, superseded by a political story that bogs down the film as a whole.
In the near future, human biology has changed so drastically that they cannot feel pain or come into contact with infectious diseases, while others have exhibited more disturbing changes, such as being able to eat plastics for food. Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen) and his partner Caprice (Lea Seydoux) are performance artists who hold massive showings of their craft - Caprice cuts into Saul's body and removes extra organs that his body grows due to a disorder called "Accelerated Evolution Syndrome." They do this to promote the beauty of the body, and in this world, as often stated, "surgery is the new sex." Although Saul remains in constant pain, it's eased with the use of a biomechanical bed and chair that assists in his eating, and the two seem like a fairly happy couple. They go to the National Organ Registry - a bureaucracy that upholds the state's restrictions on human evolution and cataloguing new organs, where they meet shy, offbeat Timlin (Kristen Stewart), who is oddly drawn to Saul and his amazing story. Meanwhile, Lance Dotrice (Scott Speedman) wants Saul and Caprice's help in telling the world a new story - the beauty of the body's ability to consume plastics - through a highly questionable performance that threatens to send the couple over the edge.
When "Crimes of the Future"debuted at Cannes, it was met with a wide array of reactions: some walked out in disgust, while others who remained gave it a standing ovation, which points to the incredibly polarizing film that it is - for me, I found it to be somewhere near the middle. It wasn't at all gross enough for me to walk out on (but then again I have a strong stomach for habitual body horror), but at the end of it all I had no inkling to stand and applaud - quite the opposite, as I was left with more questions than answers, but not in a way that seems like it was intentional. Several sub-stories in the film go unanswered, and even the main thrust of the film is left behind for the viewer's interpretation, a mixed bag that seems to want to tell an important story - but I really don't know what that story was, other than the cautions of human evolution and the decline of human depravity.
It seems that this was a film strictly made to bring Cronenberg back to his body horror roots, but not even that is a surefire thing: there's very few moments in the film where you actually see the body horror aspects, littered among long, drawn-out expositional dialogue about the current state of the world and how humans have evolved (or devolved, given your take) to be able to become performance artists for removing organs from another person's body and putting them on display for all to see. Underlying this story is a sect of people who can eat plastics and want their story told, in a strange parallel to how the marginalized peoples of today want their stories told as well, mixing in a detective drama and an illegal "Inner Beauty Pageant" that showcases the unending limits of the new human body. If this sounds convoluted and complicated to follow, you're not alone - if only each storyline managed to be fully fleshed out, but it's like snippets of each story is inserted into the film without a glaringly obvious denouement, which I often appreciate, but here I was just bored. That's not to say Cronenberg has lost his touch, but it seemed that he missed the mixture of body horror and psychological storytelling he's best known for. Or maybe it was my overly excited expectations to witness a classic akin to "Scanners" or "Videodrome," but instead given an almost muted "Saw"-like endeavor. Either way, I found myself sitting through moments of the film with my eyes drooping, impatiently waiting for the next big body horror scare.
Viggo Mortensen returns under Cronenberg's direction (after working with him in his other, more grounded, works like "A History of Violence," "A Dangerous Method," and "Eastern Promises," for which he earned an Academy Award nomination) as Saul, a man who's as mysterious at the end as he was at the beginning, whose body generates new organs that his partner operates on during public performances. Mortensen's character is a dark, brooding figure who's often dressed like a ninja and who's gravely voice seems more like an audition for the next Batman than anything else, but he still gives it his all. So does Lea Seydoux, who plays Saul's partner Caprice, serving as the calm voice of (sometimes) reason through it all, offering most of the expositional story, and who has some decent performances sprinkled throughout. Yet the standout is Kristen Stewart's Timlin, an off-putting character who speaks in hushed tones and off-symmetric tone that makes her a completely uneasy character, but easily one of the most unique and fascinating - too bad she's just a side character.
The body horror aspects of the film is obviously the highlights of the film, and Cronenberg doesn't shy away from seeing bodies cut open, pulled apart, and having their organs visible for all to see. Set against a dystopian future world, the film has no moments of brightness: no sunshine, dim lights, and dark, dingy factory settings (in actuality, the entire film was shot at one warehouse) supplies a continual sense of dread, while production designer Carol Spier provides some unique visuals including the operating table, bed, and chair that Saul uses to ease his continual pain (and all which hearkens back to the classic sci-fi film "Alien"). Without this unique aspect, the film would've easily fallen apart under its own weight, but thanks to the mesmerizing visuals and unique body horror aspect, "Crimes of the Future" serves as a welcome return for Cronenberg, even if it won't be remembered along with his iconic directorial works.
The Score: B+
In the near future, human biology has changed so drastically that they cannot feel pain or come into contact with infectious diseases, while others have exhibited more disturbing changes, such as being able to eat plastics for food. Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen) and his partner Caprice (Lea Seydoux) are performance artists who hold massive showings of their craft - Caprice cuts into Saul's body and removes extra organs that his body grows due to a disorder called "Accelerated Evolution Syndrome." They do this to promote the beauty of the body, and in this world, as often stated, "surgery is the new sex." Although Saul remains in constant pain, it's eased with the use of a biomechanical bed and chair that assists in his eating, and the two seem like a fairly happy couple. They go to the National Organ Registry - a bureaucracy that upholds the state's restrictions on human evolution and cataloguing new organs, where they meet shy, offbeat Timlin (Kristen Stewart), who is oddly drawn to Saul and his amazing story. Meanwhile, Lance Dotrice (Scott Speedman) wants Saul and Caprice's help in telling the world a new story - the beauty of the body's ability to consume plastics - through a highly questionable performance that threatens to send the couple over the edge.
When "Crimes of the Future"debuted at Cannes, it was met with a wide array of reactions: some walked out in disgust, while others who remained gave it a standing ovation, which points to the incredibly polarizing film that it is - for me, I found it to be somewhere near the middle. It wasn't at all gross enough for me to walk out on (but then again I have a strong stomach for habitual body horror), but at the end of it all I had no inkling to stand and applaud - quite the opposite, as I was left with more questions than answers, but not in a way that seems like it was intentional. Several sub-stories in the film go unanswered, and even the main thrust of the film is left behind for the viewer's interpretation, a mixed bag that seems to want to tell an important story - but I really don't know what that story was, other than the cautions of human evolution and the decline of human depravity.
It seems that this was a film strictly made to bring Cronenberg back to his body horror roots, but not even that is a surefire thing: there's very few moments in the film where you actually see the body horror aspects, littered among long, drawn-out expositional dialogue about the current state of the world and how humans have evolved (or devolved, given your take) to be able to become performance artists for removing organs from another person's body and putting them on display for all to see. Underlying this story is a sect of people who can eat plastics and want their story told, in a strange parallel to how the marginalized peoples of today want their stories told as well, mixing in a detective drama and an illegal "Inner Beauty Pageant" that showcases the unending limits of the new human body. If this sounds convoluted and complicated to follow, you're not alone - if only each storyline managed to be fully fleshed out, but it's like snippets of each story is inserted into the film without a glaringly obvious denouement, which I often appreciate, but here I was just bored. That's not to say Cronenberg has lost his touch, but it seemed that he missed the mixture of body horror and psychological storytelling he's best known for. Or maybe it was my overly excited expectations to witness a classic akin to "Scanners" or "Videodrome," but instead given an almost muted "Saw"-like endeavor. Either way, I found myself sitting through moments of the film with my eyes drooping, impatiently waiting for the next big body horror scare.
Viggo Mortensen returns under Cronenberg's direction (after working with him in his other, more grounded, works like "A History of Violence," "A Dangerous Method," and "Eastern Promises," for which he earned an Academy Award nomination) as Saul, a man who's as mysterious at the end as he was at the beginning, whose body generates new organs that his partner operates on during public performances. Mortensen's character is a dark, brooding figure who's often dressed like a ninja and who's gravely voice seems more like an audition for the next Batman than anything else, but he still gives it his all. So does Lea Seydoux, who plays Saul's partner Caprice, serving as the calm voice of (sometimes) reason through it all, offering most of the expositional story, and who has some decent performances sprinkled throughout. Yet the standout is Kristen Stewart's Timlin, an off-putting character who speaks in hushed tones and off-symmetric tone that makes her a completely uneasy character, but easily one of the most unique and fascinating - too bad she's just a side character.
The body horror aspects of the film is obviously the highlights of the film, and Cronenberg doesn't shy away from seeing bodies cut open, pulled apart, and having their organs visible for all to see. Set against a dystopian future world, the film has no moments of brightness: no sunshine, dim lights, and dark, dingy factory settings (in actuality, the entire film was shot at one warehouse) supplies a continual sense of dread, while production designer Carol Spier provides some unique visuals including the operating table, bed, and chair that Saul uses to ease his continual pain (and all which hearkens back to the classic sci-fi film "Alien"). Without this unique aspect, the film would've easily fallen apart under its own weight, but thanks to the mesmerizing visuals and unique body horror aspect, "Crimes of the Future" serves as a welcome return for Cronenberg, even if it won't be remembered along with his iconic directorial works.
The Score: B+
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