Crimes of the Future

I vaguely remember watching the trailer for Crimes of the Future, but it was so long ago that I can’t remember anything about it. All I remember is Viggo Mortensen and Kristen Stewart being in it, and that it was directed by David Cronenberg. So, when I finally watched it, I did so without much expectation.

I definitely wasn’t expecting a film that is so delightfully absurd that I was laughing out loud at some points. Even now, when I think back on the feeding chairs and how silly it all is, I can’t help but smile. There is also the controls for a surgery machine, which looks like some weird organic thing that they have to massage as if they are trying to marinade a chicken, but they do it in this sensual way, almost sexual, that always cracked me up. I think the giveaway that this film is actually some kind of bizarre comedy is the scene wherein a man was getting his eyes and mouth sewn shut while an emcee pontificates about artistic philosophy. It’s all very serious, perhaps even pretentious, then the man starts dancing this ridiculous dance and I burst out laughing.

On top of these contrasting elements of the seriously profound and absurdly funny, there is the kind of sci-fi worldbuilding that I like, the kind that just throws me off the deep end and lets me figure out what is happening by myself. I found myself thoroughly engrossed with the whole thing. Credit must be given to the actors and director for playing it so straight that the character drama wasn’t lost in all the weirdness. However, I was watching it at the comfort of my own home and had to pause it to go answer a call of nature, and when I came back I found that there was only a couple of minutes left in the movie. Surely it can’t be ending so soon I thought to myself. But end it did and it recontextualised the entire movie for me.

Then I went to Metacritic, read a couple of positive, neutral and negative reviews. Every review I read that mentioned the story or plot, even the positive reviews, criticised the ending for being too abrupt, or the plot for going nowhere. I wonder if people have been too spoiled by superhero blockbusters where the big bad villain is always defeated and plot points are nicely resolved by the end. The ending makes it very clear what this film is really about; a study of the character of Saul Tensor (Viggo Mortenson). When viewed through this lens, Saul has a nice character arc that is resolved at the end. As far as I’m concerned, that makes the story complete.

Also, considering that I wrote a novel that basically ended the same way, I have to give this ★★★★★.