A lot of folks, including Cronenberg himself, hyped up and/or warned that Crimes Of The Future was "shocking" and would cause walkouts. Because of that hype people have disappointed themselves because of how seemingly unshocking it is; the foolish tug-of-war between Expectation Vs. Communication kept them from really engaging with it. You'd have to be a truly cynical grouch to bemoan the lack of shocking "batshit crazy, man" shit when there's a hypnotic, gorgeously shot, philosophically dense, atmospheric, contemplative, satirical sci-fi noir staring you in the face. What I found 'shocking' about it wasn't any of the gore but just how sweet, warm and funny it is - the marketing has been all about a "return to body horror" with brooding trailers and chiaroscurist posters, but, this is latter-day Cronenberg baring how much of a softy he is - and we need to appreciate that.
It's also a shame that this is a one-off movie. In the age of shared universes, sequels, and franchises, the world Crony builds here is so rich and intriguing. I want more but I recognize how gluttonous that is - too much of a good thing is a bad thing, I don't take it for granted. Howard Shore's score is divine, the cast is excellent (especially Kristen Stewart and Scott Speedman who really surprised me), and the ending couldn't be more perfect - the catharsis is unbelievably intense.
I was a "medical enigma" for most of my childhood/pre-teens, went through a slew of misdiagnoses, tests, surgeries, blood work, more tests, more misdiagnoses, new meds conflicting with old meds, 3:00am E.R. visits, damaging side-effects, new diagnoses, etc. etc. I was sent to Sacred Heart in Pensacola, UAB in Alabama, UF Shands in Gainesville, and, finally, a Rheumatologist from New Orleans finally diagnosed me with IGG 2 & 4 subclass deficiency. Think of the Immune System as a tree and that tree has 5 branches on it all necessary to keep you alive; the Bubble Boy had NO branches whatsoever so a single germ could kill him.Two of my 'branches' are damaged cuz my overachieving immune system did more harm than good so my joints, lungs, and general physical health suffered (like using a flamethrower to kill a spider). I have asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, the flu puts me in the hospital, and common colds take me longer than usual to recuperate from. It's contributed to some body-image issues; I'm 6'2" and broad so my whole life people have expected me to be strong, capable, brauny, etc. I'm not allowed to be weak, sickly, incapable (a tragic irony: "Aaron" means 'towering mountain of strength,' Lolololol).
My body has always felt like a 'vehicle,' not part of me...any part. It's always doing shit I don't want it to do and, sometimes, when I want--or, worse, need--it to do something, it defies me, sometimes debilitatingly so. I don't feel symbiosis between it and my brain. I'd get lost in fantasies of being outside of it, doing surgery on myself, peering inside to see just how fucked I am, to try to 'fix' it so I can feel fucking normal.
So [spoilers] Crimes Of The Future's ending, where a man finally 'fixes' his seemingly neverending bodily misery, is one of the most personal experiences I've ever had at the movies. The first time I saw it, ironically enough, I stifled my tears long enough to walk back to my truck where I made noises I didn't wanna make in public. After that ugly-cry I drove home and couldn't stop thinking about everything Cronenberg was saying. There's more to it than Tenser's arc, particularly some mindblowing shit about climate change, microplastics, mutation - too much to unpack here. But being able to attain full autonomy and agency over one's uncooperative body is just...overwhelmingly satisfying and I'm addicted to it.
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