Cosmopolis Review

**edit I went from Eric Packer to Eric Packer to Peter Parker, it was 1am when I wrote this, I tried to edit back to correct name, but in case I missed any - sorry**

Yes, I saw Cosmopolis tonight.

I forgot it doesn't come out in USA until August until my twitter and facebook blew up at my Get Glue check-in to see the movie.

I am not a great review writer, but more of a "thought sharer" so bare with me as I spew my thoughts on this film....

Overall, I love it!

It was completely messed up, with a very indie feel, but genius.

There was basically no score, various strange but creative film angles, intense dialogue and absolutely amazing acting!

Robert Pattinson is perfect! I say this not as a Robert Pattinson fan (which I am) because I had my hesitations as to how he would perform in such a seriously strange role, but he is perfect. From his general paranoia of the world, to his non-chalant carelessness of possibly losing his fortune, he plays character, Eric Packer, perfectly.

Also, Paul Giamatti is not surprisingly amazing in his role, which wraps the film up and is perhaps the most intense of the flick. Rob & Paul both play their characters well, both armed and unpredictable.

The film starts with Eric waiting to get in his limo to go for a hair cut. His security doesn't want him to because the President is in town and traffic / road closures are going to make the trip difficult. Eric doesn't care, he wants to go, he also ponders what happens to the limo's at night... random right? Yes, this entire film is full of random and strange, obscure moments and conversations, but somehow, it is still highly intriguing...

I have so much to say, I don't want to spoil it for those who wish to see it / not know.... but if you want to know click MORE and ready on...


More...


I notice strange things and I noticed the word "this" repeated frequently. "This I know" "I know this" "This is true" and so on. The dialgue was often mechanical, yet precise. It felt as if the characters were socially awkward, yet obsessive with numbers and their desire to understand human normalcy, which they very clearly lacked.

An example, Eric is married to a poet. We don't know this when he first sees her in the taxi cab and joins her to talk. We leearn this later, after he has sex with another woman and she mentions his recent marriage. His conversation with his wife is highly unnatural, as is their entire relationship. He speaks freely of his desire to have sex, even trying to conform to social norms of noticing her outfit and complimenting her as awkward as it is for his character, yet she speaks confused and childlike, seeking clarification on his every sentence. It is like a puzzle they can't put together...

Another example, he fucks one of his security guards. Besides her full frontal nudity we do get a peak of his chest, hips and a 'tresaure trail' - yes ladies!!! He asks her what kind of weapon she uses to protect him, if the job is interesting, why she does it, and then asks her to taze him (with her only weapon, a tazer) not the usual pillow talk.

During a prostate exam, in the limo, he carries on an entire conversation with a woman, albeit uncomfortably. The camera angle and Rob's facial expressions are telling. I had heard about this scene from interviews and I have to say it was very well shot as Eric is bent over, doctor near the rear, Eric's face in the woman's as they talk she becomes sexually aroused and Eric calls her on it.

"Nancy Babitch" the voice activated code word for his head of security's top of the line, futuristic weapon, which Eric Parker promptly uses to inexplainably shoot his head of security in the head, then toss the gun into a basketball court.... more random.

Eric talks about his two elevators, the music is different in each and he takes one or the other depending on his mood. This showcases just how RICH he really is. It is also a stark contrast to where he is headed given his investments are taking a huge slash due to exchange rates and he risks losing everything.

There is a lot of economic talk and capitalism fear and the riots and the "rats" reminded me of the late 90s early 2000s (in which this novel was originally written - 2003) I didn't follow the numbers or the lingo of the financial world so much, but understood the premise.

Another random scene has one of Eric's favourite rap artists (who's music plays in one of the elevators) dying from heart failure, not being shot as Eric guesses steretypically. Eric sheds a tear embracing a big, black man in his limo who broke the news to him, as the rap artists body is towed behind a car, on display, through the streets of NYC.

There are a lot of visitors in his limo. A lot of pit stops. A lot of action surrounding his limo. A lot of strange random things... I have NOT read the book, perhaps if I had this would not have been so strange to me. Strangely Genius!

So much randomness... it is money, sex, and desire. Not just a desire of money and sex, but of .... control? understanding? connection? One can't tell, but Eric is not a happy man and he lacks true humanity or emotion except for some strange occurence of manic reactions (he shoots his own hand near the end of the film....) bizzare!

Besides his security gal, he also has sex in the limo with another woman (Juliette Binoche) in another interesting camera angle that showcases some flexibility and gymnastic techniques from the actress. She is older and the mention of age comes up with a few limo visitors.

What surprised me throughout this film was the sound, or lack there of. The limo is apparently sound proofed so you see the riots outside, as anarchists spray paint the limo and rock it and scream and fighton the streets, yet, inside, it is seemingly calm, separate from the world around it, much like Eric Packer is separated from general society.

The limo, besides sound proofing also has a urinal under the floor, a giant seat at the end for him to sit in like a king on his throne, computerized touch screens everywhere, black out and untinted windows that dim on command, and more. He has daily doctor examinations because you could die any day, even weekends.

The hair cut he eventually gets to, only to walk out half way through sporting the infamous patchy hair cut we remember seeing at Comic-Con 2011. He returns to his father's barber, which is closed by the time they arrive, but the old man welcomes him and offers him food.

In the end he sees where the limos go at night and is left on the side of the road, only to be shot at. He seeks the shooter and finds Paul Giamatti's character in a run down apartment where deep conversation occurs between the two. Brilliant scene!

Eric Parker starts as a paranoid, cocky, intelligent, multi-millionaire wanting to go for a hair cut, however, by the end of the film, he has lost everything, and been exposed as an eccentric shell of a human who is looking for more.

The final scene in which Paul Giamatti's character should kill Eric Packer, is interupted by credits. One can assume he is shot... but the talk, the exchange of dialogue is what makes that scene, not the pending murder.





It is not your typical movie. The plot is not tangible or explainable, it is more about ideas and concepts than any particular story. There are a lot of things that do not make simple sense, but leave you pondering bigger ideas.

I thinkt he film is amazing. I think Rob is superb. I think you should see it and tell me what YOU think... it is just one of those movies.... brilliant!