This makes me happy on so many levels.
I may not write about him as frequently as some of my other favorite filmmakers, but David Cronenberg is very near the top of the list of working directors whose work is important to me. He’s got one of the great voices in movies, and I look forward to each new film he makes. I didn’t particularly like “A Dangerous Method,” but the rare one-off from him doesn’t make me any less fond of the vast majority of his body of work.
When they announced that he was adapting Don DeLillo’s “Cosmopolis” into a film, it was exciting because the author’s voice is so distinct and strong that watching Cronenberg insert his own perspective into that material seemed like an exciting creative cocktail. So far, DeLillo’s work has pretty heartily resisted film adaptation, but there was a time where I would have said the same about William S. Burroughs and J.G. Ballard, and Cronenberg did pretty well by both of those guys.
The casting of Robert Pattinson in the film is one of those fiendishly clever strokes of genius from Cronenberg. Thanks to the sort of stardom that Pattinson has acquired from the “Twilight” films, he’s going to automatically draw eyes to any other film he makes, and it’s a very specific audience that he brings with him. Young women. People who may not be familiar with either Cronenberg or DeLillo. People who may not have ever seen anything like what “Cosmopolis” promises to be.
Just take a look at the trailer and tell me if it makes you smile as much as it does for me. Be warned that you might not want to play this one at the office or with kids in the room, though…
Oh, man, I hope that plays Cannes. If so, it will be my top priority for the festival. Or Toronto. Just somewhere, and as soon as possible. Can you imagine being in a theater full of unsuspecting Twi-hards when that film plays? That trailer makes it look like we are in for a very dark ride when the film is finally released. Can’t wait.