Crimes of the Future

Written, directed, shot, and edited by David Cronenberg, Crimes of the Future is the story about a dermatologist clinic director who tries to find his mentor after a mysterious disappearance. The film is a look into the mind of a man learning about his mentor’s disappearance as well as what he might be doing. Starring Ronald Mlodzik, Jon Lidolt, Tania Zolty, Jack Messinger, Paul Mulholland, William Haslam, and William Poolman. Crimes of the Future is an intriguing but very dull from David Cronenberg.

The film features this simple premise abut a dermatology clinic director who tries to find his mentor where he goes around places in Toronto to see where he is. During the search, he encounters many people in his journey who are all very strange as he is himself while sensing the presence of his mentor. It’s a film that has a premise that is interesting but its lack of conventional plot as well as it’s very monotone narration by its protagonist Adrian Tripod (Ronald Mlodzik). Notably as there’s very few moments that play out in the film that tells the story where Tripod’s narration just drags it through and through.

David Cronenberg’s direction does have some moments that play into his idea of body horror but not much happens. While he does create some amazing compositions and shot with some vibrant colors in the cinematography, he doesn’t do enough to sustain some interest in what is happening. Even as some scenes tend to go on and on where he uses weird soundtracks and Tripod’s narration to move the story forward to the point that it makes the pacing very sluggish. While there are some stylish moments in the tracking shots and the use of the locations that adds some very engaging images that includes some nice editing in the mix. The limitations that Cronenberg had in his budget in which many of the actor’s performances are very silent where its narration only hampers the story even more. Overall, Cronenberg creates a very drab film about a man’s search for his mentor.

Crimes of the Future is a very boring and pretentious film from David Cronenberg. Largely due to its budget limitations and wanting to focus on the visuals rather than dialogue, it’s a film that doesn’t contain many ideas that Cronenberg is known for with the exception of blood and body horror that he would refine in the years to come. In the end, Crimes of the Future is a terrible film from David Cronenberg.

David Cronenberg Films: Stereo - Shivers - Rabid - Fast Company - The Brood - Scanners - Videodrome - The Dead Zone - The Fly (1986 film) - Dead Ringers - Naked Lunch - M. Butterfly - Crash - eXistenZ - Spider - A History of Violence - Eastern Promises - A Dangerous Method - Cosmopolis - Maps to the Stars - Crimes of the Future (2022 film)

The Auteurs #26: David Cronenberg: Pt. 1 - Pt. 2

© thevoid99 2013