Cosmopolis (2012): ***

Eric Packer (Robert Pattinson) is a billionaire Wall Street asset manager, on a journey in his stretch limousine across town for a haircut. His bodyguard Torval (Kevin Durand) accompanies him, worried about a potential threat to his client by an assassin. Despite the gridlock traffic caused by a Presidential visit, a celebrity’s funeral and an anti-capitalist protest, Eric is determined to go to his barber even it means travelling inches across the city. Eric receives numerous characters into his limo, occasionally stepping out of his limo to have lunch with his recently wed wife Elise (Sarah Gadon). As Eric’s world starts to close in on him, will he find the answers he’s seeking? Will he get his haircut?

David Cronenberg is wearing his cerebral directing hat with Cosmopolis, an adaptation of Don DeLillo’s novel of the same name. The film is full of philosophical musings and overarching themes: capitalism, the compression of time, social responsibility, the commodification of everything and existentialism, to barely scratch the surface. There is so much going on in Cosmopolis, it often suffocates itself under its weighty themes. For all the introspective and analytical dialogue, there is never the sense that the characters fully believe or understand what they are saying. Perhaps that is the point. Eric is disconnected from the outside world; to know that it exists outside of his limo is enough for him. He seems to be cold to everything around him; the threats made to his life are only noted, the violent shoving of his limo by angry protesters is barely acknowledged. All of Eric’s passengers are at a far physical proximity to him, to really drive the point home. It could have been interesting to understand the psychological mind-set of Eric, but the audience are given few hints into how he became a cold young wolf of Wall Street. 

Everything about Cosmopolis is cold and filled with dread, meticulously captured by collaborating cinematographer Peter Suschitzky. The interior of the limo is bathed in an artificial blue and white light, as Eric sits in his throne-like seat. The frequent use of wide-angle lenses creates a sense of unease and presents the idea of a distorted reality. This uneasiness is further reinforced by the use of smash cuts, jolting the audience from one space to another. The distance from the camera to the characters also contributes to the disconnection Eric feels towards others. Cosmopolis is extremely well-crafted technically.  

Robert Pattinson doesn’t have the most flamboyant of roles as Eric Packer, but he conveys the essential iciness that is required for his character. Sarah Gadon also has a similar problem as the equally cold wife Elise, but she does manage to capture some nuance to her performance. Paul Giamatti is nervy and distressed as Benno Levin, bringing some much needed narrative tension to the film. Mathieu Amalric as André Petrescu is equal parts absurd, fascinating and disconcerting, a highlight amongst a flood of characters.  

Cosmopolis is an interesting and technically well-crafted thought experiment; however it doesn’t quite manage to bring all its elements together into a cohesive whole.