"Crimes of the Future" - Film Review
Crimes of the Future marks renowned body horror director David Cronenberg’s return to the genre he revolutionized. It has been 23 years since Cronenberg last made a film like this, and he has warned audiences that some people may walk out of Crimes of the Future because of its shocking content. While that seems to have been a bit of an overstatement, there’s still a lot to digest in Cronenberg’s latest film.
The movie takes place in a desolate, rundown future where humans are experiencing Accelerated Evolution Syndrome. Something is changing in the biology of humans that is taking away the ability to feel pain, and there are people who are growing never-before-seen organs. The combination of these mutations has created a new style of performance art where spectators gather to watch live surgeries.
Saul (Viggo Mortensen) and Caprice (Léa Seydoux) are a famous duo in this unusual new type of theater. They met when Caprice was working as a surgeon in a local hospital, and there was an immediate creative connection between them. Saul regularly grows new organs and is in constant pain from the growths. Their show involves Caprice operating on Saul using an apparatus called a Sarc. It’s a large, tomb-like table that was originally used for autopsies. They have modified the Sarc so Caprice can cut into Saul and tattoo a design on his new organ before she removes it from his body for the sake of art.
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It should come as no surprise that the government is very interested in keeping track of the new organs that are appearing. The National Organ Registry is run by Whippet (Don McKellar) and Timlin (Kristen Stewart), who have taken a special interest in Saul and Caprice’s performance. It is Timlin who, after seeing one of their surgeries and the dynamic between them, utters the phrase that demonstrates what is at the heart of the film: “Surgery is the new sex.”
There are a multitude of fascinating ideas at play within Crimes of the Future, and other stories intertwined with Saul and Caprice’s that are not mentioned here. Cronenberg promised images so upsetting and disturbing that audience members would walk out, but the opposite is happening. The body horror felt subdued in a way that was unexpected and even the most squeamish (me) made it through the full film. In most other films that can fit into the genre of body horror, the mutilations of the body are usually against the will of the person. Crimes of the Future flips that narrative on its head and creates a world where the intense alterations are consensual sources of pleasure.
As strange as it may seem, there is something bizarrely sensual about Crimes of the Future. It wouldn’t be surprising to learn that this script was written in response to the strange, isolating world we’ve been living in since March 2020. There’s a bodily, fleshy obsession in the film that feels like a direct answer to how separate people have been forced to become. Human connection, in this carnal, visceral form, has disappeared from the collective society. Crimes of the Future is attempting to bring it back.
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The trouble with Crimes of the Future is that it feels like it’s missing its final twenty minutes. While it doesn’t have the most abrupt ending possible, there was so much left on the table that needed a complete follow-through. It’s not the type of movie that will have a sequel or continuation in any form, but it is a shame that so much is left unfinished, given the intricate world Cronenberg has created.
It’s also disappointing to see Seydoux and Stewart as love interests for Mortensen. There’s nothing in the story to explain the purpose of the massive age difference between these characters. There’s a 27-year age difference for Seydoux, and 31 years for Stewart. Many other films have deftly handled the varying power dynamics at play within relationships. There’s also a lot that can be said about Hollywood’s obsession with pairing older men and younger women, as well as the lack of roles for older women. Crimes of the Future has no interest in adding anything meaningful to that conversation, so it begs the question – what is its purpose. Mortensen’s performance in this role is the least compelling of the film, so it’s difficult to understand the casting choice.
Crimes of the Future also touches on celebrity culture, policing human evolution, and what it means to be human. It’s a captivating showcase of Seydoux and Stewart, but doesn’t dig as deeply as it could.
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