Cosmopolis Reviews: Overly Intellectual or Thought-Provoking? Robert Pattinson ‘Aces the Role
I heard you loud and clear the other day about not wanting me to post anti-Rob articles/reviews, but Alt Film Guide has done some work for me and provided a bit of a rebuttal to the claim made the other day (not by me of course) that ” Word out of Cannes about his next film, David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis, isn’t encouraging”.  Let’s see what the Canadians have to say:
“Reviews have been generally positive-leaning [Maria: Really? That’s not what some people want us to believe]. Even so, Canadian critics aren’t of the same mind when discussing Cosmopolis: too cold and overly intellectualized, or gripping and thought-provoking?
Referring to Cosmopolis as a “blockbuster of the mind,” Toronto Star critic Peter Howell says “We might quibble with the emphasis Cronenberg places on dialogue, on the staginess of his sets and on the relative lack of action. … What we can’t argue is that Cosmopolis is the work of a master filmmaker, one who is determined to have us think about the ideas packed into the trunk of this limo bound for the furthest corners of the psyche.”
As for Robert Pattinson, Howell says the following: “Very well played by Pattinson as a mash of guile and naivety, Packer would have made a good patient for the subjects of A Dangerous Method, Cronenberg’s previous movie.”
T’cha Dunlevy in the Montreal Gazette: “This is not, for the most part, Cronenberg the macabre (though that side of him does surface). Nor is it the more subdued, plot-driven Cronenberg we saw in last year’s A Dangerous Method. It is a mix of the two: a contained, quirky film in which he lets his weird side shine through in the details.”
Dunlevy thus sums up the review: “But this film rests squarely on Pattinson’s broad shoulders, and in the brooding features of his perfectly chiseled face. Cronenberg is at play in this slippery, surreal affair that is best appreciated with open ears and an open mind – and begs to be seen twice.”
Bruce Kirkland in The Toronto Sun: “Adopting a convincing American accent, Pattinson aces the role despite his panic attacks before the film starting shooting in Toronto.” Kirkland later adds: “Cosmopolis will certainly baffle some, bore others. I cannot imagine what Twihards will think. But it is intelligent and stylish cinema …”
After saying that Cosmopolis is “fascinating stuff, stilted but still compelling,” The National Post critic Chris Knight carps that “the problem with Cosmopolis is that the rarefied intellectualism displayed on the page translates poorly to the screen. Pattinson’s flat line readings are clearly the result of Cronenberg’s direction; it seems the filmmaker is so anxious to present a character insulated from the rough shocks of everyday life that he inadvertently creates a kind of zombie.”
In the Vancouver Sun, Katherine Monk says Cosmopolis is “impenetrably cold,” adding, “certainly, as a metaphor for the international monetary system … Cronenberg designed his film to refuse intimacy. The whole point of this plodding, self-conscious allegory is to point out how removed we’ve become from our own world.”
Monk adds: “We never care about Eric Packer, even if that is Robert Pattinson up there. The scenes that could humanize him are stilted, and most of the movie feels like theatre of the absurd — only with the axis reversed.”
Now Toronto‘s Norman Wilner: “The film glides along on dreamy inertia, with characters popping up for random conversations before vanishing from the narrative. The result is more interesting as an intellectual experience than as entertainment; you watch Cosmopolis fully aware that it wants to be deconstructed rather than enjoyed.”
Hmmm interesting …
7 comments on “Cosmopolis Reviews: Overly Intellectual or Thought-Provoking? Robert Pattinson ‘Aces the Role”
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TessANZ
Maria,
Thanks for the post and all the interesting snippets of reviews for Cosmopolis.
i will definitely be seeing this movie more than twice and i already am enjoying the trailers so, no brainer there. i am looking forward to this very much and no negative reviews will stop me. Vive la Rob! <3
TessANZ
Maria, thought i posted but it got lost…thanks once again for your fidelity to your role in keeping us all updated regarding all things Rob and i am looking forward to this…and Bel Ami, of course, which does not open in NZ until July 27th !
ciao bella! <3
Sue
Thanks Maria ….. I really didn’t mean to yell the other day after that review was posted …… took my happy pills today and really enjoyed reading this post (okay, most of it). LOL It sounds like Cosmopolis is going to be a compelling movie experience, which we really don’t have very often any more ….. and I can’t wait!
I have about a week’s worth of posts to catch up on, but this one caught my eye first. Thanks again to the RPAU team who have kept the Rob goodness rolling in these last few weeks, it’s been brilliant ….. even though I don’t think anyone has really had time to appreciate it in full yet!
Just had a thought ~ anyone remember what letter of the alphabet we got up to? haha it’s been so long since we’ve needed one…… I guess things will calm down now for a while …….
Ephie
Hi Maria and thanks once again for posting all this.
You know, I don’t mind reading negative reviews about Rob when the reviewer backs their opinion. But if they are waffling and not giving us any sound reasons as to why they disliked his performance I get annoyed and angry. I like to get a broad picture of how the movie is perceived by the critics so I always try to read both positive and negative reviews.
I have noticed something though and I wonder if the rest of you ladies saw it too. It seems to me that all the critics who are dissing Rob’s performance also didn’t “get” the movie or disliked it as a whole. And on the other hand, all those who liked the movie and what it has to say, also praise Rob’s performance. I may be wrong but this is what I have concluded from all the different reviews I’ve read.
One thing is for sure though. Bad or Good reviews nothing is going to keep me from seeing this. I am sooooo looking forward to this film. I just want to get lost in the limo and in Rob’s performance and the words….
Maria
Hahaha I’m pretty sure we are up to “G” @Sue – normal programming will continue soon *giggles*
Bee Kaye
Thanks for these reviews Maria. I rest my case! And yes, it will be easy to see Cosmopolis twice and more – X factor Rob!!
Carmel
Cosmoplis isn’t a movie for everyone. It isn’t mass entertainment. Critics cover a broad spectrum of tastes. Not all of them will agree.
I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this movie.
Thanks for the review Maria. Good or bad, it is all news about Robert’s career and that is what we are here for.