Cosmopolis (2012)
Cosmopolis is a day in the life of Eric Packer, a 28-year-old New York stock market multi-millionaire, as he crosses Manhattan in his customized limousine to go for a haircut. His cross-town journey becomes an almost vertical voyage, with bizarre occurrences and an authentic parade of crazy characters along the way, in a landscape that depicts the modern soul of the West at the end of the millennium (mubi.com)
Cast and Information
Directed By: David Cronenberg
Written By: David Cronenberg, Don DeLillo
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Mathieu Amalric, Juliette Binoche, Jay Baruchel, Samantha Morton, Robert Pattinson, Sarah Gadon, Emily Hampshire, Kevin Durand, Jadyn Wong, Bob Bainborough, Abdul Ayoola
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada, France, Italy, Portugal
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Cosmopolis belongs to 29 collections
1. Netflix Instant (collaborative: moderated by somnivore - 29 stars)
2. Based on a Book (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 24 stars)
3. 24 hour (or less) timeframe (collaborative: moderated by djross - 24 stars)
4. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 12 stars)
5. Business, Finance and Economics (collaborative: moderated by djross - 11 stars)
6. similar to julien donkey boy (public: kikifas - 8 stars)
7. Mindfuck, surreal, strange and weird films (List by André "BadSmile" Byman) (public: stalebread - 8 stars)
8. Based On Novel (collaborative: moderated by tathiel - 7 stars)
9. Capsules, guest reviews, list candidates... (366weirdmovies) (collaborative: moderated by sesito71 - 5 stars)
10. Cannes 2012 Official Selection (collaborative: moderated by CCLZA - 4 stars)
11. Howard Shore (composer) (collaborative: moderated by djross - 2 stars)
12. /r/Cyberpunk/wiki/movies (collaborative - 2 stars)
13. Canadian director (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 2 stars)
14. mwgerb's Netflix Instant Queue (public: mwgerb - 2 stars)
15. Non-Places (public: Ag0stoMesmer - 2 stars)
16. film puanlamalarım (collaborative - 1 star)
17. Netflix instant LATAM (collaborative: moderated by Roman_Herbom - 1 star)
18. Amazon Prime Latam (collaborative: moderated by Roman_Herbom - 1 star)
19. Cahiers du Cinéma's 2010's Annual Top 10 Lists (public: Thegoodboy - 1 star)
20. Taxis/limos/rickshaws (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed)
21. My DVD Collection (public: balseiros)
22. Hard to Rate (public: Bullt)
23. Seen at the movies (public: allegreller)
24. 2012: Year in Review (public: polanski28)
25. 2012 US Theatrical (public: DrBroel)
26. Netflix Instant and Popcorn Time (public: TraverseTown)
27. HDD 151029 (public: caffe)
28. 2010s watchlist (public: kendell)
29. Top 10 des Cahiers du Cinéma: 2012 (public: jagarnyfiken)
Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 14 |  |
Oliveira | 84 79th |
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A 21st Century horror story, where love, people, death and even money, have no value or meaning. The dialog embraces in full the unreal and the poetic side of the inhumane, heavy with symbolism, it asks questions and answers them with more questions, and while it may get dense, and intellectually wearing, the final result is one fascinating work. A great tension and stressful vision of a man, and a civilization, reaching total breaking point. Cronenberg's most ambitious and uncompromising wor
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| 7 |  |
frederic_g54 | 4 14th |
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Complacent, meandering bullshit. More of a flaccid series of cryptic vignettes rather than an all-encompassing work that not only denotes the indispensability of an engaging plot, it also paints Pattinson as a one-note actor. I was wiling to grant him the benefit of the doubt, yet his face displays as much expression as a bank deposit box. Guy can't even take off his sunglasses and make it seem natural.
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| 6 |  |
somms | 85 94th |
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A film about capital, currency, ambition, and the complete emptiness of the pursuits of civilisation in the face of the unknowable. An honest appraisal of the irrelevance of human civilisation when placed against the unstoppable entropy of the cosmos. This is what happens when we reduce life down to systems, processes, actions, reactions, commodities, fractions, algorithms and data, while forgetting to recognise the beauty in variation, inconsistency, the unexplainable, and the undefinable.
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| 6 |  |
Paxton | 40 9th |
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This seems more suited to the stage than the screen, but then, of course, you couldn't cast the lead to the first no name that walks off the street. EDIT: My wife had to explain to me several times that Robert Pattinson actually is a professional actor. Sorry for the confusion.
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| 5 |  |
joseywales | 69 53rd |
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A lot of people missed the point of this one (and should read some of DeLillo's work) and a lot of other people REALLY missed the point of this one: ie the 12 people (mostly women in their 30's) who walked out of this one midway through, likely expecting a new movie from that guy from Twilight. I enjoyed it, it did remind me a lot of eXistenZ in a proto-cyberpunky kinda way. Electronic6 says it best when he calls it "A 21st Century horror story".
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| 5 |  |
Barthalen | 69 51st |
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Terribly hard to rate. It's not a movie I'd watch a second time and it all seems rather aimless. Then again, at times I was really drawn in by the uncomfortable atmosphere and the great soundtrack. It jumps around a lot, the film feels like a bunch of vignettes with only a vague common theme holding things together. Still, that theme was kind of interesting.
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| 4 | theficionado | 88 87th |
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Late-modern capitalism as death cult, transforming appetites of all kinds into a set of discrete and sacred rites, with its own totems and cathedrals (limousines with sneering metal maws) and ethos preaching (self-)destruction as an act of creation & freedom, converting its adherents' experience of time & space into quantifiable commodities, teaching marketability & exchangeability as the highest virtue, preaching asymmetry -- the refusal to be understood -- as the greatest sin.
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| 4 |  |
Judge Holden | 2 15th |
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DeLillo's writing features some of the most didactic dialogue in modern American literature, and so it's not surprising that Cosmopolis' script is as lifeless as Robert Pattinson's face. He's no doubt trying to channel Patrick Bateman, but all I'm seeing is Keanu Reeves. The poor execution turns what could have been an interesting film about the "specter of capitalism" into a vapid, tedious and heavy-handed lecture. It's not profound, funny or engaging, and might be Cronenberg's weakest effort.
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| 3 |  |
Kojiless | 5 2nd |
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Watching Cosmopolis is like falling down one of those abandoned wells you see in Japanese horror flick remakes--it's so deep you start wishing that you'll just hit the bottom and drown already. 1 point each for the two scenes (both involving guns) that actually pulled me forth from the boredom coma I fell into after the first 5 minutes. 1+1=11. And that display of new math is as profound as anything you'll find in this movie.
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| 3 |  |
Dean Franz | 3 3rd |
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"A dismembered horsecock tossed into a rancid lake, left to be devoured by a bunch of starved crawfish... in lingerie." THERE. I just made a more powerful metaphor and statement than this condescending, face-cancer inducingly stupid piece of fetid cock phlegm did. This has appeal only to people who quote Linkin Park lyrics during political discussions.
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| 2 |  |
Alex Watkins | 4 70th |
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A film that, if nothing else, has stuck with me since I watched it. DeLillo's dialogue is every bit as odd as you'd expect when spoken rather than read, and Cronenberg's intimate, theatrical direction only enhances the sheer weirdness of Cosmopolis. It's a film with much to say but a very strange way of saying it, such that I'm uncomfortable drawing any conclusions about the film beyond: I liked it. Kudos to Cronenberg/Pattinson for having the balls to film such an alien (and alienating) work.
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| 2 | forehead1 | 10 0th |
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Robotic banker drives about in his limo meeting random people and talking random shit. I've never read the novel and considering how bad this script is I never will: not witty, not intelligent, not thought-provoking, not amusing, not even innovative. Just a string of incredibly verbose, utterly pointless, pretentious conversations that go nowhere and tell us nothing. I honestly have no idea what this film was trying to say or do. Cronenberg has made some corkers but this is as bad as Crash.
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| 2 |  |
Syntheseizur | 73 35th |
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Cronenberg directs this movie to death. I mean, the film is completely disinterested in anyone watching. It's dense and dull and cold and pretentious and it doesn't give a fuck. It's a "flawed masterpiece" where the flaws outnumber the strengths 2-to-1. But it's totally interesting, and it's definitely worth watching. It's just that kind of movie.
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| 2 |  |
burkayadalig | 15 1st |
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couldnt even finish it..boredom stretched to indescribable limits... a true masturbation of a director
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| 2 |  |
glumpy_99 | 28 2nd |
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Meandering, self-indulgent mess wastes an agreeably smarmy performance from Pattinson; Cronenberg and DeLillo hit one droning note with dull, absurdly expositional dialogue galore, and archly unconvincing performances from its usually reliable cast (Binoche's mercifully brief appearance is the worst offender). The point of this story of this sad man is elusive; are we to pity him? grudgingly respect him? want to wallow in the designer porn? I don't know, and I don't think Cronenberg does either.
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| 2 |  |
Seethruskin | 7 99th |
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Capitalism as mass ritual. One of the few movies to really understand the modern world. Sterile and impenetrable. Find the truth.
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| 2 |  |
backwardsuit | 65 33rd |
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Fascinating and stubbornly singular vision of a horrifying new age. Very much a thematic and stylistic continuation of Crash but with broader societal implications and less of a sense for dramatic progression. Also it starts to tip over into blunt pretentiousness at times. I have great admiration for parts of it but my gut wasn't in for the ride. Mostly operates on a purely cerebral level.
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| 1 |  |
djross | 70 77th |
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This, not HOLY MOTORS, is for this viewer the stretch limo movie of 2012. Also, Cronenberg's best film in perhaps twenty years or more. Seems to be quite low-budget, and nearly plotless, and very "writerly" (note: have not read the book), but for those willing to go along with it, this is strangely gripping. Constitutes, along with TAKE SHELTER, KILLING THEM SOFTLY, and MAGIC MIKE, evidence of Hollywood's new, post-financial-crisis ethos.
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| 1 |  |
AFlickering | 8 98th |
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i don't normally link to off-site reviews on here but this is one into which i put a fair amount of effort so http://themissingslate.com/2014/03/15/private-theatre-cosmopolis/
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| 1 |  |
Anomaly | 53 21st |
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The problem with making something about detachment and ennui is that the work itself can easily become cold and distant. And the problem with adapting a novel is (simply put) novels are talky and films are showy. Unfortunately Cosmopolis makes both mistakes, and the result is really off-putting. Eventually Giamatti and the climactic scene finally manage to pull off what Cronenberg was trying to do, but it's too little too late.
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| 1 |  |
prowler | 87 89th |
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pretty awesome. it's what movies like fight club strived to be but lacked the material and vision
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| 1 |  |
muutanet | 41 32nd |
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Cornenberg decided to make a radio play. The visuals in this story were lacking of interestingness. If you close your eyes during the film you do not miss much. I did not like much of episodic non-moving style either. Acting was nice though. Fourty-one is a prime number.
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| 1 |  |
JakeAesthete | 99 99th |
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As a huge DeLillo fan, i was not disappointed. Considering it is a nearly verbatim translation of his novel, how could i be? Fortunately it is intelligent enough, hilarious enough, prophetic enough, and well-acted enough that whatever it lacks in "cinematic" greatness can be ignored in the face of how perceptive and illustrative of our 21st century post-modern age it is, in a way that perhaps no other film has yet captured. And did i mention it's funny?
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| 1 |  |
Obdurate | 80 66th |
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It's a pretty cold and detached film, with the general feel and the dialogue, which is unnatural at times, literary and symbolic. I think that in this particular type of movie, that works. I was never going to feel bad for the main character due to political reasons. However, the movie knows this I reckon, and somehow draws you into its world, and is interesting the entire time, with a nice ending. Cronenberg is a talented director who pieced this dense film together wonderfully.
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| 1 |  |
SNAKEFOOD89 | 16 1st |
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Despite the great source material this film was adapted from, whoever's idea it was to have all the actors limit their emotions and act like a bunch of wooden marionettes should be shot. Couldn't even finish the movie. Sure you could say most of DeLillo's lines are served cold and detached, but i still feel that the actors can take those lines and make them come alive with their delivery and movement.
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| 1 |  |
moraesfelipe | 65 62nd |
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A bit underrated rigid adaptation of a rigid book about a world that looks rigid, but seems desperate for some reckless, primitive moments of chaos, when it's possible to forget numbers and predictions and embrace pleasure, sex, death -- and other mundane but essential elements of the human experience.
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| 1 |  |
walkearth | 60 60th |
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Very solid continuation of the same motifs looked at in Videodrome. The dialogue is clearly taken directly from the book, and thus doesn't work so well on film. It is intended to be read on paper so the viewer would have more time to assimilate what he's read.
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| 1 |  |
nauru | 0 0th |
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Unwatchable. The acting and dialog were so awful and the story so boring that I could not finish this film. It is trying so hard to be intelligent and 'avant-garde' that it fails completely in being a tolerable film.
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| 1 |  |
Karakand | 15 19th |
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You know how an adaptation feels painfully out of place? This is the god-emperor of that.
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| 1 |  |
ventura | 0 1st |
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Painfully boring. I left it before the end.
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| 1 |  |
bing | 55 21st |
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Meandering surrealism trying to debate class unrest. Enjoyed performances, engaged with subject matter, discussed for at least an hour afterward. Didn't like it.
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| 1 |  |
Cinema_Asia | 60 30th |
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Tween fan favorite Pattinson seems an amusingly apt choice to play the role of a stone faced wealthy elite billionaire isolated from the mundane world. The philosophical rhetoric of the people he encounters is fascinating but too detached. At times the people almost appear as mannequins reciting these profound sounding every day life'isms that the audience is supposed to be able to put into context. Cosmopolis would have been a weird and wonderful stage play but as a film it's pretty mediocre.
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| 1 |  |
tinysausage | 38 0th |
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I love DeLillo, I love Cronenberg, but boy is this a stinker. After trying in vain to engage with the stilted caricatures spouting excruciating cod-intellectual ennui for an hour, I walked out of the cinema for the first time in years. I was not alone either.
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| 1 |  |
Tjekhov | 75 79th |
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I expected something different. Something less arty, but in the end, I didn't care for my expectations, because this is film has so much else. Yes, the film is political. Yes, the dialogues are overtly literary, but at some point the film lures you in to it's unique universe. The ending was superb, sometimes it dragged along a bit, but there's meaning behind the slow progression. The intensity slowly builds and the finalé feels disgustingly surprising.
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| 1 |  |
axleblaze | 71 34th |
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Basically Wolf of Wall Street crossed with Holy Motors but somehow far less interesting than that indicates.
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| 1 |  |
homosuperior | 85 66th |
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Not having read the Don DeLillo novel it's based on, I wasn't prepared for how funny this movie is. Directing his own adaptation, Cronenberg pulls fresh, witty comic performances out of all the women leads, particularly Morton, who's a scream enunciating like a powdered robot, and a deft pathos out of Pattinson. So yeah, his Twilight background might have helped him here, but instead of teen sexual angst, the weight of the world's data is on his shoulders.
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| 1 |  |
closedmouth | 80 68th |
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It's inherently a fool's errand, making real human beings say the deliberately inhuman dialogue of Don DeLillo. Every actor fails because it's impossible, & it's about as insightful as Robocop (I don't like DeLillo's cynical philosophies, but I like reading his writing) so I can't explain why I found this so entertaining. It's one of those Brown Bunny/Twentynine Palms type of things, where I should be hating everything on screen (in fact that's kinda the point) & yet I'm inexplicably enthralled.
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| 1 |  |
Daph_NL | 18 1st |
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Wow this was bad....
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| 1 |  |
ratedargh | 70 44th |
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Finally, an example to point to when I say I don't want to get a haircut. It's fascinating and dense. It most certainly requires a second viewing. Upon initial viewing, it's best to sit back and not ask your own questions. Let it sink in, let it wash over your senses. The intrigue is there to bring you back around to it again.
Whether it answers your questions or asks more is unimportant. Some may say it's lazy but sometimes the only answers that matter are the ones we determine on our own.
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| 1 | mkellins | 30 11th |
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I really wanted to like this film, after all, it is Cronenberg's. But seeing the Twilight-kid in the leading role was instantly off-putting. Pattinson looks more uncomfortable than ever. There was some interesting dialogue but everything else was utterly frustrating.
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| 1 |  |
??? | 57 35th |
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David Cronenberg's talent is more erotic when it's wasted.
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| 1 | whatisitisee | 70 46th |
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chilling directing diminished by contrived acting and exaggerated dialogue
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| 1 |  |
drguildo | 2 7th |
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Pretentious and self-indulgent.
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| 1 |  |
hsncrspywl | 71 47th |
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I'm a big DeLillo fan so having read the book I was expecting something very very similar - and I was left satisfied. A few minor issues with things left out compared to things left in but I think the important thing taken from the book is the dialogue - it's alien, robotic and fits the plot and tone perfectly. Cronenberg uses the performances perfectly in bringing the dialogue, themes, and characters to life. The few moments of violence really show Cronenberg's skill at terrifying an audience.
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| 1 |  |
DesertPunk | 58 26th |
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I'm a Cronenberg fan, but other than a few scenes lingering around the climax of the film (Paul Giamatti does an honestly amazing job), it doesn't feel like it was his project; It doesn't feel like it was directed by anyone at all. Some Arri Alexa achieved sentience and wandered into a limo with a Don DeLillo novel.
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| 1 | danastevens | 70 61st |
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Because I've long been captivated by Cronenberg's keen intelligence and highly personal cinematic vision, I took a strange pleasure in submitting to this movie's stilted but weirdly poetic rhythms. But I freely acknowledge that for others, enduring Cosmopolis may be less fun than a backseat prostate exam.
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| 1 |  |
redflag | 97 89th |
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Hard to rate. Underrated. A B-movie with aspirations, art pretending to be schlock, or just pretentious indulgence? A movie I hope gets more debate in the future since it got so much flack when it came out. "The yuan is strong" and "I'm buying the Rothko chapel" are two of the best lines I've heard in a movie.
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| 1 |  |
peyrin | 80 81st |
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Half insightful, half nonsensical, and entirely deranged, but perhaps there is no other way to get to the truth of the utter absurdity of the 1%.
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| Average Percentile 41.74% from 1321 Ratings |  |