Crimes of the Future

Whilst certainly nowhere near his best, this is still quite an intriguing drama from David Cronenberg. It all centres around "Saul Tenser" (Viggo Mortensen) who uses his own body to grow (or "cook") extra organs which he and his assistant "Caprice" (Léa Seydoux) extract as part of rather gruesome, but popular, theatrical performances. Meantime, "Dotrice" (Scott Speedman) is reeling from the suffocation of his young plastic-eating son (by his own wife) and so convinces the exhibitionists that an autopsy revealing the internal digestive organs of this most unusual of mutations would make for excellent viewing. Don McKellar ("Wippet") and his colleague "Timlin" (Kristen Stewart) run the government department for organ registration and needless to say they take a dim view on the legality of some or all of these activities... or do they? The concept is interesting and ethically highly dubious but sadly the execution is a bit lacklustre and there is way too much dialogue and, oddly enough here, too little use made of the special effects that are at times quite disturbing to watch and are, no pun intended, rather at the heart of the story. Stewart's very presence suggests her character has a more significant part in the proceedings but her appearances themselves are actually quite sparing which is always a bonus for me! It does take a while to get going, and somehow the ending is all rather underwhelming but it still has enough traces of the director's unique style and imagination to make it worth a watch - once

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/opinion-pieces/what-do-both-dont-worry-darling-and-crimes-of-the-future-have-in-common "Personally, I believe that cinematic narratives with multiple plot points and questions related to the world itself are too often confused and envisioned as character studies driven by a single protagonist. Both Olivia Wilde and David Cronenberg complete their movies when the main character fulfills the minimum requirements of their arc, consequently renouncing all other equally significant issues worthy of in-depth exploration. In the case of Don't Worry Darling, one finishes it with an underwhelming feeling from an unsurprising conclusion, while in Crimes of the Future, viewers are left with several questions and interesting, half-developed paths about such a mesmerizing futuristic world. Neither film explores its own world-building satisfactorily." Rating: B+

Not the most enjoyable of watches, it meanders a bit, though <em>'Crimes of the Future'</em> is most certainly interesting throughout. I tend to find films like this a little hit-and-miss, as I personally find the constant reaching for shock value or just simple weirdness a bit too forced. And this film does that a few times, but to be fair as the run time was ticking by I could definitely feel myself becoming more and more intrigued by events portrayed on screen. Cast-wise, Viggo Mortensen and Léa Seydoux great together, very good acting and very good chemistry. Don McKellar (just me who sees a Jeffrey DeMunn likeness in his eyes? probably ...) and Welket Bungué are more than decent too. Kristen Stewart and Scott Speedman give solid showings as well. A, fair to say, weird one it is, but a weird one that I just about got enough from.