Crimes of the Future is David Cronenberg's first film in eight years, both as a writer and director. The picture is filled with bodily horror and intriguing notions, and it is explicit enough that several audience members walked out of its Cannes Film festival screening because of it. However, none of the notions or character developments are properly realised, resulting in the film's potential being lost while interesting arcs go nowhere.
Set in the future, Crimes of the Future follows Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), a performance artist who is suffering from Accelerated Evolution Syndrome, in which new organs grow inexplicably and are surgically removed by his partner and former trauma surgeon Caprice (Léa Seydoux) in highly sensual public performances. It's a showpiece of humans and machines coexisting, and it's taken very seriously. Saul is one of a small group of people who are nevertheless aware of suffering. This attracts the attention of many, including Timlin (Kristen Stewart), a National Organ Registry investigator who is captivated to Saul after attending one of the pair's performances. With the intervention of Detective Cope (Welket Bungué), the politics around human evolution begin to surface, and things take an interesting turn when the mysterious Lang Dotrice (Scott Speedman) approaches Caprice and Saul about performing an autopsy for their next presentation.
The premise is intriguing, especially as Cronenberg peels back the layers of a society split apart over humanity's evolution. Arguments for halting the evolution of the body in order to preserve what makes the population "human" are prominent, while another side is adamant about allowing the population to progress to the next stage. The director doesn't seem very interested in the answers and moral ambiguity Saul finds himself leaning towards during Crimes of the Future, and the film doesn't come up with any resolutions. The movie frequently feels like a succession of thoughtful, frightening, and odd occurrences unfolding without a common thread connecting them.
The film explores how people can experiment on each other and themselves now that there is no longer any pain involved in the process. The issues surrounding art, humanity's destiny, and technology's role in evolution make for fascinating discussions. However, towards the end of the film, they are still unfinished talks, half-formed ideas that barely touch the surface of the world Cronenberg has created. Even the body horror isn't as terrifying as the teasers and Cannes buzz promise. The unsettling performance, which involves surgical blades ripping open Saul's flesh, is practically excruciating, yet it's too clinical and uninspired to provoke much of a reaction.
The premise of Crimes of the Future is intriguing enough, but the film fails to tie anything together, leaving the plot's fragmented elements adrift and turning the picture into a tiresome watch.
Set in the future, Crimes of the Future follows Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), a performance artist who is suffering from Accelerated Evolution Syndrome, in which new organs grow inexplicably and are surgically removed by his partner and former trauma surgeon Caprice (Léa Seydoux) in highly sensual public performances. It's a showpiece of humans and machines coexisting, and it's taken very seriously. Saul is one of a small group of people who are nevertheless aware of suffering. This attracts the attention of many, including Timlin (Kristen Stewart), a National Organ Registry investigator who is captivated to Saul after attending one of the pair's performances. With the intervention of Detective Cope (Welket Bungué), the politics around human evolution begin to surface, and things take an interesting turn when the mysterious Lang Dotrice (Scott Speedman) approaches Caprice and Saul about performing an autopsy for their next presentation.
The premise is intriguing, especially as Cronenberg peels back the layers of a society split apart over humanity's evolution. Arguments for halting the evolution of the body in order to preserve what makes the population "human" are prominent, while another side is adamant about allowing the population to progress to the next stage. The director doesn't seem very interested in the answers and moral ambiguity Saul finds himself leaning towards during Crimes of the Future, and the film doesn't come up with any resolutions. The movie frequently feels like a succession of thoughtful, frightening, and odd occurrences unfolding without a common thread connecting them.
The film explores how people can experiment on each other and themselves now that there is no longer any pain involved in the process. The issues surrounding art, humanity's destiny, and technology's role in evolution make for fascinating discussions. However, towards the end of the film, they are still unfinished talks, half-formed ideas that barely touch the surface of the world Cronenberg has created. Even the body horror isn't as terrifying as the teasers and Cannes buzz promise. The unsettling performance, which involves surgical blades ripping open Saul's flesh, is practically excruciating, yet it's too clinical and uninspired to provoke much of a reaction.
The premise of Crimes of the Future is intriguing enough, but the film fails to tie anything together, leaving the plot's fragmented elements adrift and turning the picture into a tiresome watch.
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