Maps to the Stars (David Cronenberg)

Finally got around to watching this and I'm quite torn, on one hand Hollywood is the perfect world for Cronenberg to delve into with his obsession of all things body horror. One can easily view the extremes by which so many celebrities go to retain their youth as the ultimate in body horror and is something that Cronenberg's son Brandon explored in his rather interesting debut Antiviral.

Maps to the Stars sets out to explore the manner in which Hollywood has the past decades replaced religion for so many, it has changed how we feel, behave and live our daily lives with so many stars being offered up as some ideal manifestation of man.

In Cronenberg's capable hands the idea of Hollywood as a dream factory is wonderfully explored, especially in the manner through which he views the mythological nature of celebrity drawing contrasts between it and works such as Oedipus. Much like in Oedipus, Maps to the Stars is a tale of how the corruption of family destroys all, much like an apple rotten at the core the only way to save the harvest is through self-emulation. There are a great number of themes and dynamics at play here but few of the various strands ever really come together in a satisfactory manner. Much like in Cosmopolis, the film at times feels like a series of vignettes which while linked thematically lack a coherent center around which to build. Visually the film is rather muted and cries out for a coherent style. The shot on digital sheen gives the film a rather artificial feel which makes for an interesting comment on the artificial nature of Hollywood but one feels that this is more accident than purpose.

Where the film really shines is in the performances. Julianne Moore is exceptional as an aging actress desperate for that one role upon which she can rebuild her career. The film belongs to her and an early scene where she engages in a threesome with her boyfriend and another woman is one of the years best moments. It's a wonderfully understated and subtle scene which allows Cronenberg to explore the nature of alienation in a rather subdued way. The scene slips repeatedly into fantasy as Havana's sense of isolation and discomfort come to the fore. As an actress she lives in her mother's shadow and here, as part of a threeway she's is isolated, alone and seems to be nothing more than a body to fill space. The lack of eroticism in the way the scene plays out further highlights the throw away nature of people and is mirrored in a later scene where Havana entices a chauffeur to have his way with her in the back of his car while his girlfriend (Havana's scarred assistant) looks on. It's a drab, sexless act which occurs simply so that Havana can asset her dominance and prove her worth.

The problem with Maps to the Stars is that it features startling moments such as these but never knows what to do with them. Throughout the film, Cronenberg looks at the cult like nature of success, Scientology is mentioned fleetingly and John Cusack's Dr. Stafford Weiss is portrayed as some sort cult leader but nothing of note comes from it. It's just one of a number of plot points which is introduced only to be forgotten about almost immediately. Had the film committed to exploring these themes and ideas that it so frequently alludes to then one gets the feeling that the film could have been so much more. As it stands, Maps to the Stars is a fleeting look at at a world that should be explored in depth. There's a rich and deeply thematic film hinted at but in Cronenberg's hands one can't but expect something a little more than what we get.