Cosmopolis Movie Review



Starring: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Sarah Gadon, Kevin Durand


Directed by David Cronenberg

Rated: R

Run Time: 108 mins

Genre: Drama


Open in Theaters August 24, 2012

By Lisa Minzey


Hello Phoenix Film Festival fans!  We caught the screening of Cosmopolis, another mid week release, thus bringing you another mid-week movie treat.

Cosmopolis is a strange, highly philosophical story that is culturally relevant to today’s headlines. Based on the novel of the same name, written by Don DeLillo, Director David Cronenberg (A Dangerous Method, A History of Violence) ambitiously took on dual roles as director and screenwriter. Cronenberg wrote the script for this film in 6 days.  That’s quite a feat when it landed a nomination for the Palm d’Or Award at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

Young Billionaire Eric Packer (Robert Pattinson) has plans for the day; his main objective is to get a hair cut. He does the majority of his dealings from the stretch limo he owns, so throughout the course of his day, there is a constant flow of people in & out of his vehicle. Packer is not having the best of luck today, as he is dealing multitude of serious traffic issues inNew York Citydue to protesters and the added security of presidential blockades. Through a constant flow of dialogue, the audience discovers how unhappy the young billionaire’s life truly is.

It may be that Eric’s personality at first impression comes off as arrogant, manipulative and selfish, but underlying all those qualities associated with what people assume wealth people to be, lays some deep rooted personal issues and insecurities. For someone to achieve immense wealth and success by the time he is 28 years old would be an enormous amount of pressure to bear, but Packer makes his choices and thus needs to be held responsible for his actions.

Eric’s wife Elise Shifrin (Sarah Gadon) refuses to consummate their marriage, so he had random sexual encounters with various women through his day, in numerous places, in the city; his company is hemorrhaging money which he can’t stop and to top it all off, his favorite rap star has died, Brother Fez (K’Naan). His security detail, Torval (Kevin Duran) is determined to keep him safe as he travels throughout the danger –ridden streets of Wall Street-esq protestors. If Eric Packer’s world continues to crumble, will his psyche follow? Or will he be able to pick up the pieces of his fragile ego to rise above the madness of the time?

At first glance, this film has a lot of positive things going for it. A stellar cast, a quirky director and a riveting concept to fit in with the headlines of the day, but this will end up being a film that audiences will love or hate.  Regardless of how indifferent the opinion of the film may be, there will be some compelling conversations following the credits.