neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Spider
	David Cronenberg Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne, Lynn Redgrave, John Neville 2002		Director David Cronenberg established his career with hallucinogenic films about science gone wrong ("Scanners," "The Fly," etc.). He never shied away from depicting messy, organic horrors, even bringing that sensibility to his adaptation of William Burroughs' surreal novel "Naked Lunch." Cutting back on viscera and achieving new artistic heights, Cronenberg applies his sinister vision to "Spider," the devastating psychological portrait of an emotionally crippled man living in a halfway house after his release from a mental hospital. The ex-patient is a shabby, mumbling fellow, seemingly incapable of reconnecting to society. In a controlled, heartbreaking performance, Ralph Fiennes plays him as a lost soul seeking clarity. He wanders London's East End, where he grew up, and relives events from his youth. In his mind, he watches as his parents and his younger self face a traumatic situation. Memories can be faulty, though. Gabriel Byrne is effective as the father; Miranda Richardson is phenomenal in a chameleon turn as the mother and two other characters. With Lynn Redgrave as the brusque woman who runs the halfway house.