New 'Cosmopolis' Review: The Movie Is A "Mixed Bag"

"It’s hard to know what to make of “Cosmopolis.”

Is it an icy cold, lacerating and prescient look at what our society has become in the wake of the economic meltdown? A pretentious muddle championing form over substance? A meandering collection of set pieces loosely held together by a decidedly odd, distancing performance, most of which takes place inside a stretch limo?

Yes.

All that and probably more, too. David Cronenberg’s film, based on the Don DeLillo book, stars Robert Pattinson as a billionaire trying to make his way across Manhattan to get a haircut. This as his world is tumbling around him. The pairing of Cronenberg’s style with DeLillo’s words — the director has said that the dialogue comes basically verbatim from the book —- sounds, on paper, like a dream pairing. 

It’s not clear that it is. In fact, some parts of the film fall so flat in such odd ways you wonder what Cronenberg is up to. Then another scene will come along and you will think that it redeems not only whatever came before it but the film itself. Sometimes you wonder if Pattinson is purposely removing himself emotionally from the proceedings (likely) or if he’s just not much of an actor (benefit of the doubt, all that). Happily for everyone involved, it ends on the strongest note of all, a lengthy scene with Pattinson and Paul Giamatti.

“Cosmopolis” is frustrating, funny, thought-provoking, weird, maddening, worthwhile. It isn’t a great movie. Sometimes it’s not a good one. Sometimes it is. Ultimately it is one worth working through, a valuable exercise if you’re willing to make the effort."

Source:  news-leader