Pattinson stumbles in ‘Cosmopolis’

By James Colt Harrison

Robert Pattinson, who became a huge world-wide star in the Twilight series, is now stumbling in his latest incomprehensible mishmash Cosmopolis.  Pattinson is not having a good year personally, nor professionally, and movie fans can only hope he pulls out of his slump. He’s a likeable enough chap, but his selection of films has been dismal, other than the Twilight series.

As luck would have it, he’s having a cataclysmic day in Cosmopolis as well. At times he looks completely lost in this film and maybe he was wondering why he agreed to do it at all. At least we were puzzled as to why he would choose a film so unfathomably boring.

Apparently he is playing a 28 year-old wunderkind of Wall Street who is casually wagering his entire company against the (hopeful) failure of the Chinese Yuan. Nearly 90% of the film is suffocating as it is filmed inside his stretch limo, in which he is riding across New York City to get a haircut from his favorite old barber.  During this time, he encounters riots against him personally and the money-men who caused the financial collapse. Various strange people visit him in the limo. It’s hard to discern the reason for the social visits, other than Juliette Binoche’s quickie in the back seat.

The guest actors who have mini-cameos such as Juliette Binoche, Sara Gadon and Samantha Morton barely make an impression as they are gone from the screen before your eye registers who they are. The actors fare a little better. Young Jay Baruchel is good as Pattinson’s assistant. Paul Giamatti—who is good in almost everything he does—makes an impact as a crazed man who has given up on life. He’s a bit over the top, but the part cries out for it.

The film is unpleasant in almost everything it attempts. One particularly cringing scene is when Pattinson has his doctor visit the limo and give him an on-screen prostate exam. Had we wanted to see a medical film, we would have gone to UCSD Medical Center.

Responsible for this wretched film is director David Cronenberg. His previous films were The Fly, Dead Ringers, and A History of Violence. With this film he has done violence on the audience.

Others in the cast are Kevin Durand, K’ Naan, Emily Hampshire, and Mathieu Almaric. It’s a good bet the actors will want to erase this film from their resumes. Entertainment One Films.

  

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