I found myself wondering after the first 15 minutes, “Who is this Cronenberg wannabe?” Turned out, it’s Cronenberg, in “Crash”/”ExistenZ”-style disappearing-up-his-own-ass mode. It was beautiful but meh. I’ve been a lifelong Cronenberg fan, but sometimes it seems like he doesn’t realize it takes more than a good idea and good cinematography to make a movie. Some sort of high-concept claptrap where in the future people prefer pain to sex and artists mutilate their bodies in front of audiences. I think if ExistenZ had been as well-shot and well-acted as this, people would have realized it’s the better of the two movies. Which isn’t saying all that much. Apparently this was very well received at Cannes, which makes me begin to suspect that Cannes is just as much of an empty circle jerk as Sundance.
