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Spider 2002 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by David Cronenberg
R, 98 min. (sexuality, brief violence, language) |
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Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne, Lynn Redgrave, Bradley Hall, John Neville, Gary Reineke, Philip Craig, Sara Stockbridge
Producers: Catherine Bailey, D. Cronenberg, S. Hadida
Screenplay: Patrick McGrath
Cinematography: Peter Suschitzky
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Released: 2.28.03 (Limited) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
That the average moviegoer will leave the theater scratching their head in complete confusion over what exactly director
David Cronenberg meant to communicate in his near masterpiece Spider isn't surprising. What is startling, however, is how brilliantly
crafted and elegantly restrained Cronenberg is considering his past work, which usually emphasizes the bizarre and surreal
nature of his films' themes. Spider is one of the most complex films I've ever seen, both in terms of multi-layered
storytelling and metaphorical images - this isn't a film that will reach a wide audience, but it's one that will be studied for years
by students of cinema. By comparison, Spider makes A Beautiful Mind look downright pedestrian in terms of how schizophrenia
truly affects the mind, with usually devastating consequences.
The film begins with a sense of bleakness and carries that theme to its completion. Recently released from a mental institution,
Dennis "Spider" Cleg (played by Ralph Fiennes in a truly brilliant performance), wanders the empty streets of 1980's London mumbling
to himself and reaching his destination, a halfway house, in due time. His landlady, Mrs. Wilkinson (Lynn Redgrave),
leads him to his cramped quarters where he will try to piece together his shattered life, which he has feverishly begun to detail
with sporadic squibbles in his worn notebook. It quickly becomes evident that Spider is entrenched in severe mental anguish, something
that will shape the form of the film's jagged and nonlinear structure.
The story begins to show us Spider's troubled childhood, mainly his confused relationship with his mother (Miranda Richardson) and father,
Bill Cleg (Gabriel Byrne). Unable to understand the proper mother/son relationship, Spider becomes destructively introverted
and reclusive as he encounters his parents' liason in the front yard, and later is confronted with his father's continual visits
to the local pub, where he is sent by his mother to fetch him home for dinner. It's here that he encounters Yvonne (also played by
Richardson), a local tramp that seduces his father. He sees the two together, and, eventually, the murder of his mother by
his father's hands. Furthermore, his father tries to convince him that Yvonne is his real mother. But is it real?
We get the sense here that something is not quite right, and indeed Cronenberg has plans for his audience.
As Spider retraces his childhood steps through the back alleys and fields that surround his old home, he is continually lost
in his indecipherable words and notebook, glancing and darting between both his mind and reality. We see him as a child
(played by Bradley Hall), and the mental torture that begins to take hold of him at an early age. The adult Spider can be
seen leering in his own mind, as he stands where his younger self would have stood and also in the background, watching
as his memories unfold with a chilling, cold-like precision. Cronenberg shapes these
scenes with an overriding sense of intricate yet fragile balance, much like that of a spider's web. He challenges the viewer
to keep pace with a film that is slowly winding its way back to the center of truth, or in this case the perceived truth.
The brilliance of Spider is in the way schizophrenia is revealed. It's confusing, unraveling, and in a constant state of
fissure. Unlike the almost predictable nature in which Ron Howard's A Beautiful Mind methodically communicates the mental illness,
Spider plunges the viewer deep into the chasm that is the world of perceived reality, a place that twists one's world into
whatever subconcious desires or beliefs that it believes to be authentic. And, of course, when one is confronted with the
truth at last, the destruction that has been wreaked in their mind can yield devastating results in the real world.
The relatively muted Cronenberg that's on dispaly here is cinematically accomplished, but nonetheless surprising. In a career
that has interpreted the mind's imagination in a way that few directors have dared to probe, Cronenberg uses a deliberately
toned down effect to push Spider's serious subject matter to the forefront. Besides, schizophrenia itself is enough to
thoroughly rattle the minds of most viewers. He was wise to let the film speak for itself instead of adding unnecessary
imagery that would only further muddy the waters. Cronenberg is responsible for the gothic horror of The Fly (1986) and
the extraordinary power of the ordinary in The Dead Zone (1983), to name a few, but all his films have the powerful performances
of his main character.
And in Spider that character is played by Fiennes in one of his best roles. I've always considered Fiennes as an underrated
actor even given the considerable praise his startling performances in Schindler's List, Quiz Show, and Sunshine garnered.
One could argue that his Spider is the most difficult of his career, with slight nuances and intense concentration required
for the film to work. It's also ironic that an effort like this would come on the heels of maybe his most lackluster effort to
date in the moribund Maid in Manhattan.
It also helps that the always wonderful Miranda Richardson is on hand to provide solid support in a dual role that gives the
film its schizophrenic punch. And Gabriel Byrne lends a hand with his combination of tenderness and volatility in Bill.
Like many great films, such as a similarly complex Memento, Spider must be seen again and again to appreciate
the craftmanship of a director that creates a paradigm almost every time out. This film can't possibly be digested in one
viewing, although it's obvious that this is the work of someone who has taken the time to hide gems within its narrative to
be uncovered with each successive viewing. As bleakly and honestly as Spider concludes its labyrinth storyline,
I was struck by the way Cronenberg left the viewer in limbo, almost as if they are meant to feel, if only for a moment, what
it might be like to see the world through foggy lenses. And a new appreciation for the solidarity that mental illness inflicts
on its victims.
© 2003 Jonathan Cornwell
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 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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