David Cronenberg is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a main originator of the body horror genre which is pretty neat! Most of his films explore transformation, the human body, desire and sexuality. A few notable movies I think would be perhaps 'Crash'and 'M Butterfly'; but also 'Naked Lunch' would be one of the many Queer films that he has made, that was ahead of his time.
I have wanted to write about (for the most part) what people haven't, as I feel not many mainstream sources ever analyse Cronenberg despite him being an "art house" staple. What really made me want to write this was a friend who mentioned a video (on social media) where Luca Guadagnino says "I think every great movie is gay". In this interview with Video Club and he is so right, there has not been a single queer film that I have seen that was not great or 'A Great'... Something so moving and heartfelt that other films can't capture for one reason or another, I'd think maybe "All Of Us Strangers" is one such film, a great "horror" movie too!
I watched it originally because i was obsessed with Jeremy Irons, now image my horror watching 'Lolita'... that obsession burned out fast after that, but Dead Ringers has become a top favourite film of mine because it did what I had not seen, that being the idea of two identical twins without one of them being more "evil" then the other, in fact in the film they are extremely normal -for the most part-, David Cronenberg even mentioned this, he wanted to deviate from the norm, not just with the occupation of the charterer. I have never seen to this day a gynaecologist based psychological horror film, not to mention the overarching theme of how unhealthy merging identity with someone can be.
The acting is extremely believable Geneviève Bujold as Claire Niveau is phenomenal, stunning even, while being effortlessly charming, bearing such an energy and perfectly complementing Jeremy Irons performance or rather performances. Irons is also a major draw to this film, there has only been a handful of "double" characters -if you will- that I liked, they balance the twinning effects well, obviously making a slight show of it but never too much. Jeremy Irons being able to switch from Beverly to Eliot while making clear character distinctions, is I think a talent in itself but it's not just the acting, Denise Cronenberg's costume choices really help to show the subtle character differences but also makes complete sense in the film like how Beverly wears notch lapels more classy, softer, with a gold round watch, however Elliott wears peak lapels indicating his sharpness, while the harsher square watch and more angled clothing choice reinforced his "playboy" like behaviours as a womaniser, though comparatively one is no worse than the other, they have their own flaws that in its own way levels out the playing field, oddly this whole movie is based partly on the true story of Stewart and Cyril the twin gynaecologist.
I'd also like to add that a theme I love in the film is femininity and women; they are important, a main concern really, as the twins become distance from women in turn alienating women as "Mutants", there was quite a few people that felt it was sexist but personally Claire Niveau is such a well fleshed out character even through she's a supporting character she is authentically herself. I think of that one scene where Beverly gets mad at Claire, feeling that she was insinuating he was gay as she said he had a "feminine" name, it shows how he is deeply insecure about his masculinity and sexuality.
there was dozens of talks about this film, when it was first released (in 1996), being distributed in multiple countries, however I think the most notable reaction aside from the horrible press response was from the UK, multiple people wanted the film to be banned or censored however it should be understood that most of the reasoning for this was backed by a fear of sex, disability and homosexuality as this was all cover in the film, most of the overtones of all interviews and articles about the movie were ableist and homophobic, what they didn't seem to understand was that if you watch the film (from my perspective) it's partly about women coming into to new found sexuality, its powerful they are in control of what they want and who, and I think the disabled representation is amazing maybe not extremely complex but it is still interesting and exciting as Rosanna Arquette character Gabrielle fits her sexuality with her disabilities, she adapts.
Crimes Of The Future (2022) was, I think, a solid movie, definitely leagues better than let's say... Possessor. Crimes Of The Future has an amazing visual style and I think interesting themes that even through have even been explode by David Cronenberg before are more heavily analysed, I don't think they're tired or that "he now has no fresh ideas" because "Sex is the New Surgery" is new. I have never watched a film even remotely like this and let's be honest he loves that idea, it appears in a plethora of films but mainly Dead Ringers, having even talked about it in a interview by the BBC , talking about the inner form "it's the essence of our physical life and yet we find it repulsive, and I find that very strange." is a sentiment that I agree with, there is something so beautiful about anatomy, lets say like a heart, all its veins and artery, pockets of blood and flesh even though it might not be for most "aesthetically pleasing" as it's not the newest fast fashion trend but there is something remarkable in just tissue alone. Even a film that I'm unsure of; Cosmopolis is still more interesting -somehow- than your cookie cutter action film that get released now. Having a clear themes and perspectives of capitalism, it's alienating but that's the point and he also really wants a hair cut.
I don't think recent movies are by any means bad, modern Cronenberg is still "Sexy" while usually having a more confident and mature feel to films after 1999, Yes, elements of violence and gore are for the most part still present but it reflects his long line of work. Could History Of Violence have been made without perhaps eXistenZ? Or Scanners? No matter how many films he has and hopefully will make reception will always sway but no matter the reception or waiting my opinion on the Shrouds, Cronenberg will always be The Master of Horror and Sexuality.
