I went to see Cosmopolis written and directed by David Cronenberg. I wish I had something to say about it but I didn’t get it. I was lucky enough to get a free movie ticket to see it so I stayed until the end, because I was waiting for the story arc to reveal something masterful. Ergh. Was I dead wrong. It was a movie that was preaching to itself all the way through. I also stayed because my brother Bleu actually paid and he wasn’t leaving but we sat across each other at dinner with blank faces. We tried talking about it but really the words that kept coming out of our mouths were along the lines of “WTF was that?!” or “I don’t get it.” This was a movie that had expository writing the whole way through, so much so that I wanted some of them to shut the hell up. At the end of the film, someone in the audience clapped his hands…I think he was clapping because it was finally over. Or perhaps he thought it was genius….perhaps…but I think I missed the point of it. Oh and I cannot believe Cronenberg actually had Juliette Binoche writhing on the floor of a limo. Seriously?!

Now I am a huge fan of David Cronenberg and I know he has a strong inclination towards the obscure, which is mostly fine so long as I can follow a thread, some semblance of logic or illogic. His works like Crash (1996), History of Violence (2005) and Eastern Promises (2007) to name a few are complex and intelligent films.

Cosmopolis is a total miss for me. Both the subject matter (financial capitalist enterprise) and the storytelling kept everything at the surface level. When we reached the conclusion of the film, I could care one whit about Erik Packer (the protagonist). And his impending death was both trite and obvious. *big yawn*

Now I wish I had gone to see the latest Bourne flick. Mainstream candy. No nutritional value.
OH WAIT!! On a more positive spin

The History Channel ran a repeat of the Hatfield and McCoys mini-series…and that was really well done. Holy Hell!! The cast was fantastic. And I have a new found respect for Kevin Costner. There has  only been one movie that he was really good in: Dances with Wolves. Everything else *shrug* just didn’t make an impact BUT Costner was nuanced in this performance. So very glad I was able to catch it this time around.

Last bit, I think I mentioned earlier that I was reading Patricia Highsmith’s The Price of Salt and that I love her writing. I hit up a very good friend with an extensive library and wrangled up six more titles to read. So I’ve been reading The Talented Mr. Ripley and I’m finding the story gripping…because Highsmith knows how to create tension within a character. She does it so well that I could feel the neurotic temperament of Tom Ripley. Hoorah!

Okay, I’m off to work on my own writing.

Peace,


L~

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