Attack of the B's!

eXistenZ (1999), David Cronenberg.

Cronenberg's obsession with grotesque imagery and objects shaped like deformed genitalia continues. My boyfriend thinks that this should be watched after Videodrome, as a companion piece. I think he's right. There are a lot of similarities between the two movies, it seems as though eXistenZ is almost sort of an update of Videodrome. Instead of television getting in your head, now it's video games. The lines of reality, technology, and fantasy are blurred again in much the same way.

There are a few cheesy moments, but now I realize that those moments are a very important tool in this movie. They are Cronenberg's way of letting the audience know that they're witnessing life in the game, as opposed to in "reality." I really think that the story as a whole is not that unbelievable. I think we will see a game like this in our lifetime. He has a lot to say about free will and its questionable existence. Maybe even our own questionable existence. And as always, even the simplest of things is made overtly sexual. (Maybe sensual is a more appropriate word?)

A lot of people think that Jude Law was miscast in this part. I disagree! I think he is at his best in sci-fi/suspense movies, as opposed to rom-coms. (Seriously, Alfie is an atrocity.) His boyish looks coupled with the fact that he was relatively inexperienced at the time, compared to his co-star (Jennifer Jason Leigh), gave him a sort of naivete that made his role all the more convincing. I also noticed that, although the viewer is to assume this movie took place in the future, there was a serious lack of the cliche futuristic elements usually used in such a movie, further adding to the sense of realism. It's definitely a movie that begs repeat viewing. After this crazy challenge is over, I'm probably going to revisit this.

Best Line: "I'm feeling a little disconnected from my real life. I'm kinda losing touch with the texture of it. You know what I mean? I actually think there is an element of psychosis involved here. " -Ted Pikul

Grade: B+