Cosmopolis Or How Robert Pattinson Plunged A Stake Through Edward Cullen’s Heart
The tagline for Harry Harris’s review for Sabotage Times was enough to make me want to read it, but his final paragraph sealed the deal:
“Six people walked out of the Cosmopolis screening I attended, presumably they were twi-hards who wanted to see Robert Pattinson be Robert Pattinson, or maybe they wanted something linear and easy to follow. Ignore them and go and see this film, probably the most exciting piece of cinema this century.”
Oh and this “R-Patz has finally cast of [sic] the shackles of Edward Cullen and proved himself as an actor of real prowess in Cosmopolis – my film of the year so far” – I’ll ignore Harry’s use of that moniker just this once.
And for those who claim they’ve seen producers, reviewers or anyone walk out – big freakin deal. You know what that tells me – it tells me this people lack patience, went to see a film they would never have bothered to see if Rob wasn’t lead actor, or just love to get their 15 mins of fame on Twitter by people RTing them. I don’t care if you don’t like the film, but telling people not to waste their money – well big kudos to you for being so self important you think your opinion matters …
Anyway, back to normal programming and here’s what else Harry, who clearly isn’t a sheep, had to say:
“Prepare to be surprised†reads the tagline for Cosmopolis, David Cronenberg’s long awaited adaptation of Don DeLillo’s novel, and given the fact that teen idol Robert Pattinson adorns the posters, slumped over in a beast of a limousine, you get the feeling that it’s his performance that we’re being directed towards. He is arguably the biggest star of the moment, thrown from relative obscurity into the blinding light via the Twilight series, and the legion of batshit fans that it has managed to accrue. The worry for Pattinson in becoming so closely associated with one role is that the more popular Twilight becomes, and certainly it’s showing no signs of abating, the harder it will be for him to craft a career for himself when the franchise inevitably comes to a close.
Kudos to him then for taking on Cosmopolis, a dark, challenging, radical change of pace directed by David Cronenberg. I’ll cut right to the chase: The film is an absolute work of art, and Robert Pattinson’s performance is nothing short of stunning. [My emphasis]
…
So this is the film: Packer driving across town to get his mop-chopped, whilst outside New York is in the middle of a riot against capitalism. On the face of it this could be construed as a fairly cynical attempt at exploiting the zeitgeist, juxtaposing a whole city of unrest with one man’s inconsequential desire, a banker-bashing tract without any real cinematic longevity. This is what I feared it would be. How utterly, utterly wrong I was.
What the film manages to do brilliantly is inject action and a vibrant kineticism into a small space, in this case the limousine in which the majority of the story takes place. Packer sits on his leather throne like a drunken marionette as people enter and exit his vehicle, either to warn him, advise him, protect him, examine his prostate or fuck him, and his reaction is similarly non-plussed whether he’s being told of a threat on his life or whether he’s got Juliette Binoche writhing around his crotch. This is the most important thing to know about Packer as a character, he is completely alienated by the real world around him, instead he deals in abstractions. To him, time is currency. We see him getting excited about septillionths of seconds and wanting to buy a church full of Rothko paintings, but little else.
Despite this, Packer strives to understand the physical, the concrete. He constantly re-affirms his knowledge by repeating the line “I know thisâ€, whilst also spending the film seeking out food and sex, or occasionally extreme self-mutilation in order, seemingly, to experience anything other than the figures which fill his head. The only other film in recent memory which takes a similar stance would be David Fincher’s Fight Club, which simultaneously critiques and positions itself within a capitalist framework, at the same time examining the effect money and corporate enterprises have on masculinity. The script is brilliant at enforcing this point. It reads like the poetry of capitalism, occasionally very funny, occasionally incredibly dense to the point of being completely alienating to the viewer, deliberately so. Not having read DeLillo’s novel I don’t know how much of the script was lifted directly from the source material and how much Cronenberg wrote himself, but certainly the dialogue flows beautifully and with a ferocious rhythm. …”
Click on link to read full article.
Thanks Harry for doing what most other reviewers couldn’t do and that is give us an insightful look at this film.
7 comments on “Cosmopolis Or How Robert Pattinson Plunged A Stake Through Edward Cullen’s Heart”
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Michelle
Well done Harry for actually giving a proper & intelligent review of the film. Something that so many others fail to do. Not a sheep – hit the nail on the head there Maria.
The people who tweeted that they walked out of Cosmopolis & told everyone “not to see it” or whatever other rubbish spouted, you should be ashamed of yourselves.
“The film is an absolute work of art, and Robert Pattinson’s performance is nothing short of stunning” LOVE LOVE LOVE. I just cannot wait to see Rob as Eric & the whole film with my own eyes. Thanks for posting Maria.
Vicky
I am absolutely loving this review. Someone who clearly went in with an open mind and no pre-conceptions and has judged the movie on it’s own merits!!! That is all we can ask of people. Opinions differ from person to person, that is to be expected. As for people walking out and then big noting themselves by tweeting and retweeting that fact, small minded people with very little else going on I think. Thank you Harry for the review and thank you Maria for sharing it with us!!!!
Sue
Thank you Harry Harris …”probably the most exciting piece of cinema this century” ….wow, big shoes to fill there! I only hope reviews like this encourage a broad(er) audience to give Cosmopolis to go ….interesting that he didn’t read the book beforehand. 32 days til we get to know Eric and that limo a little more intimately. Can’t wait. Thanks Maria.
ps. Love the ‘drunken marionette’ description ~ that really resonates with me, from seeing the trailer.
Elane
Thanks for posting Maria – this review just makes me more excited to see the movie. Spending time with Eric on his “leather throne” and “slumped over in a beast of a limousine” – this movie has been highly anticipated and there will be no way I will be walking out of that cinema until the lights come up ” I know this”. ps. Thanks ladies for the countdown cos unfortunately my iPad won’t let me see the widgets 🙂
Martha M
What a great review. Harry put it so perfectly. Bravo!!!
Bee Kaye
Surprise, surprise!! this reviewer was surprised and has given an interesting review. “The film is an absolute work of art, and Robert Pattinson’s performance is stunning.” Vindication is sweet. There seems to be a complexity in this film, which I am so looking forward to Robert interpreting. Can’t wait to see Rob. in action. Thanks Maria for posting.
Ephie
This has to be the best review I’ve seen so far. Very insightful indeed and kudos to Mr Harris for the praise he has bestowed on both Rob’s performance and the movie although it seems to me that he was not a fan before this. bravo Mr Harris!!! We need more critics like you who can keep an open mind and leave their preconceptions at the door.
Thanks @maria, this was the best thing before bed time!