Cosmopolis Movie Review for Twilight Fans

Actual Post Date 9/5/12

9 of 10 Stars!!

Cosmopolis reviews are pretty split - they are either soaring or obnoxious. Did Robert Pattinson do a good acting job or didn't he?

TRU-TWIHARDS WANT TO KNOW!!

I'm not sure Robert will be able to get a decent review of any of his movies from a "professional" critic anytime soon. I'm sure that is because of Twilight. People assume that the actors and actresses are only as good as what they've seen of this saga (AND they are getting burnt out on them BECAUSE of us FANS); so they (and people in general) don't have much respect for them as we've ALL seen and experienced over and over again.

But isn't it NEAT that people like David Cronenberg are able to see past all that crap, ha! THANK YOU, MR. CRONENBERG for being BRILLIANT! I loved your movie (and NOT just because of Robert)!!

That being the case, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart AND Taylor Lautner will probably ALWAYS have to do a damn near PERFECT job every time they're on the big screen. It's not really fair... But if Cosmopolis is any indication, I think Robert can handle it. ;)

The OTHER thing about Cosmopolis movie reviews is that alot of them are judging the movie based on how it comes across as a movie from the book (just like they did Water for Elephants) - which is not something I've read (nor is it "my kind" of book to read, although I JUST MAY read it now after I've watched it, ha!).

That's one of the reasons why I actually prefer to watch a movie first... Reading the book first gives you so much more detailed information than what can be put into a movie; so the movies are often a disappointment to book readers. HOWEVER, reading the books AFTER a movie often makes the book seem more vibrant.

SIDE NOTE: Is there even such a thing as an ORIGINAL HOLLYWOOD SCREENPLAY, anymore?!

But THIS is WHY they make books into movies - so that people who DON'T read can enjoy them, too! So while I can't address the movie from a book reader's perspective - from a movie perspective and "what I got out of it" - let's just say, Cosmopolis immediately went onto my favorite movies list!

The only issue I really had with the movie was the very beginning... It took a good 2-3 minutes for me to get into this new character. From a movie standpoint - if you're someone who is working with an actor like Robert Pattinson who has a very familiar "presence" to people; in a movie as different as this, I think he needed to be PUNCHED into the character at the beginning, somehow.

But Eric Packer sort of creeps up on us... You really do feel for the first couple of minutes like you're watching Robert Pattinson act until you get familiar with the character. But after I was finally hooked into him, the performance was very dynamic and yet kind of two dimensional - intentionally, it seemed because of the character's dysfunctional personality. Which, anyone who has ever done any acting knows - playing a two-dimensional character is kind of HARD to do; and if it's done kind of deceptively like Eric Packer seems to be (you're really not SURE just HOW many dimensions there are to him by the time you get to the end) - even better!

If there is one "kind" of character that Robert Pattinson does a good job with - it's these dark, quirky, semi-crazy, SEXY characters who also somehow manage to have a cock-eyed sliver of a soul, ha! (*I* would LOVE to see him do a really good comedy - a GOOD one. I bet he has good timing!)

First... Cosmopolis ISN'T a typical alternative movie to Twilight, so you can probably count on not liking the movie very well if you're not into quirky, dark, cerebral stuff. Because of that, there isn't alot of action and some of you might feel like the movie crawls in places.

But the funny thing is... If you allow your mind to wander off, you notice it being pulled back into the movie with some turn of a phrase of some wonky thing happening on screen. It's DEFINITELY different; and to be honest it's sort of "my kind" of oddball movie and I was thoroughly entertained with it.

But, if the other 6 people (3 guys and 3 girls besides me - all about my age) who were in the theater with me during last Friday's afternoon matinee were any indication; they were laughing in the same places I was - YES, there IS some damn funny stuff going on at times.

The pie-assassination guy was just the PERFECT insane quasi-vigilante. And Eric STRUTTING through the alley with that GUN got the loudest laugh from us all - well, it might be tied with that "mutton" comment that came later during the last scene with Paul Giamatti. (You'll see Eric/Robert's strut through the alley in the trailer above. I would think you'd have to practice something like that - especially for a seemingly geeky white guy like Robert Pattinson, ha!)

The conversations are VERY detailed and swift at times, and if you're not into "Wall Street" or Technology you might get a little lost - I know I did at times. I think it's probably one of those movies that you have to watch a couple of times before you "get" all the nuances that are woven through it.

However... As much as *I* am NOT into things like Wall Street or start-ups, I did NOT feel left out of the storyline at all. MOST of these conversations seem to be about LIFE using Wall Street/Technology as the metaphor to talk about it. They are imperative but it's not essential to understand every word of every conversation - as long as you're getting "the jist", and the jist comes across very well.

Here's one of my favorite scenes... Didi/Juliette Binoche NAILS life on the HEAD for us all at the end of it. And DANG, if you've EVER WONDERED just WHAT a 'cougar' is... All I gotta say is, Juliette makes US look GREAT, Ladies!

I LOVED Mr. Packer's WIFE, Elise/Sarah Gadon - SHE ALONE makes me want to go out and read the book JUST to see if there is MORE of her in it! Every time she made an appearance I became more and more curious about her. What IS she like (she seems like an ice cube with a raging sensitive streak and KEEN sense of SMELL, ha!). What DOES she do all day long? HOW did they meet - and how in the WORLD did she and Eric EVER manage to warm up to the point of getting MARRIED! Talk about a quirky relationship!

ALL the actors stood out - so many characters came and went throughout the day. ALL of them AND their conversations WERE interesting!

While I'm sure there wasn't meant to be alot of humor in here - frankly, the best movies never TRY to be funny, they just ARE. And Cosmopolis has some pretty hysterical lines being flung around - sometimes in the midst of the most seemingly mundane conversations. If you're not paying attention, you'll miss them!

One of the BEST SCENES - The PIE Assassination Guy!

 

Best Reason to Watch Cosmopolis
- The ENTIRE Ending Scene -
with Benno/Paul Giamatti
I don't know how the book ends
but *I* thought it was PERFECT!
(This is also where we were chuckling the most, at times.)

Here's more with Robert & Paul toward the end.

DEFINITELY a MUST SEE Movie if you are a Robert Pattinson FAN!

(When you're old enough if you're not already. ;)

FYI, this is just one reason why Rob has so many fans. Of course, WE knew this about him before DC elaborated for us. ;)

“He’s terrific. He deserves the affection that the fans have for him. He’s incredibly sweet, he’s very funny, he’s very bright and he’s also very knowledgeable about cinema. Not just movies but the history of cinema. He knows a lot about it.

He’s just a sweetheart. And he’s totally professional. He’s always right there. We had a lot of fun shooting [the movie] because, as I say, he has a great sense of humor. We just played a lot. I think that’s a really great tone that’s set for everybody on the set. The lead actor has a really big influence on the tone of the shoot. If you’ve got a guy who’s very difficult and neurotic or whatever, they can’t help but affect everybody’s day. But Rob is not like that.

He’s just a ray of sunshine. In fact, he’s in absolutely every scene of the movie, so obviously his temperament would have a huge influence on how the shoot went … and it was a dream. It was a beautiful shoot.”

David Cronenberg
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