Film No. 87 (2014) December 20th. 8.00 PM THE PINES Outdoor Cinema Joondalup.
Maps To The Stars
A History of Violence is my favorite David Cronenberg film because it is the film that makes the most sense from his stable of cinema projects. He followed this with Eastern Promises and very nearly met the same standards. After lying under the summer sky and feasting on Maps To The Stars the other night my head is still spinning with the obscure way in which this film unfolded.
No one is spared in this take on Hollywood. Havana Segrand played superbly by Julianne Moore is an instantly unlikable actress vying for a part (initially played by her abusive mother) in an upcoming film remake. We witness her disappointment at not being cast but just when we think this is going to be the film's premise, Agatha (Mia Wasikowska) arrives with a scarred past to act as Havana's personal assistant. Agatha's family, have connections to Havana. Agatha's father (played by John Cusack) is Havana's self styled guru. He becomes the major dysfunctional force in the narrative.
There is David Lynch like obscurity (Mulholland Drive) to Altman (The Player) like realism layered from scene to scene as Cronenberg doesn't snipe at Hollywood but merely observes how disfunction may have been caused to an ordinary family in a make believe world. The barometer for all things unlikable is Agatha's brother, No.1 Hollywood child actor Benjie who could not be made more repulsive by Evan Bird.
Films like Maps To The Stars are not seen to be enjoyed. They are seen to be digested so we might gain an appreciation of the normal family life we may enjoy. Or perhaps an enjoyment comes from the interesting way a competent film maker (Cronenberg) goes about crafting a new style in telling a fractured tale from a not so original idea. He does it well, but he has done better. 7GUMS.
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