MAPS TO THE STARS **
David Cronenberg’s latest film is as unpredictable, bizarre and shocking as everything else he’s done. His signature is a guarantee for gruesome, which is in fact, his most original characteristic; no matter what the story is, the sense of anxiety, like something horrible is about to happen, remains through the narrative, until it finally manifests, taking entire control of the screen, and surprising the audience’s perspective about what’s being told with a bloodbath. A mixture of tragedy, dark comedy and horror, Cronenberg’s exploration on Hollywood’s bad behavior is a pervasive look on fallen stars and their breakdown, defied by their vicious habits, greed, pride and corruption. The screenplay by Bruce Wagner compiles a group of actors, producers, writers, and their associates, each on a verge of a personal crisis, physical and emotional, while they are incapable of facing their moral decline: an euphoric actress struggling to get the role of her mother, in order to get rid of her traumas, a teenager dealing with self destruction caused by greed, a high-class psychoanalyst trying to maintain the horrors of the past out of the way, and the unusual connection between a driver who dreams of stardom and a disfigured mysterious girl, who becomes the core of the film’s circle of destruction. Bitterly funny, awkwardly bizarre and sometimes heart-breaking, Cronenberg depicts a Hollywood devastated by illusions and the dangers of ego. He burns everyone’s emotions and aspirations into the same pot, serving up an ugly and awfully savored portion of the consequences of fame, while his characters seem to be manipulated by the same aspects: seeing visions of dead people, suicidal attempts, murderous intentions, incest relationships, drugs abuse, profanity, lack of commitment or compassion and the repulsive instincts of people who don’t believe in anything but the green bills. Although the result of such dirty subjects, where not even one single character demonstrates a valuable personality, the cast manages to absorb their roles perfectly, giving incredibly raw and honest performances. The cry-out of Julianne Moore’s self relief, the revelation of the teenager who’s satisfied with “13 summers lived”, the encounter of father and daughter under tragic circumstances are some of the most cut-throat moments in Cronenberg’s irregular, pessimistic and very sinister look on the anxiety and depravation of a hopeless society.
ALSO PLAYING
Awesome and funny, “Kingsman” is a controversial look on violence and technology manipulation; “Wild Tales” is a compilation of amazingly well-crafted 6 shorts about violence, but feels like the director ran out of ideas, releasing it as a feature-length. High School comedy “The DUFF” also investigates young society’s bad behaviors and materialistic fever with tenderness and good humor. “Timbuktu” portraits a family’s journey into hell, when their paradise is interrupted by Islamic forces, and documentary “Around the World in 50 Concerts” is a wonderful look on classes divisions and human rights.
Comments