When the Hollywood screenwriter Bruce Wagner presented his script written in the 1990s to Canadians, he admitted that only Cronenberg can shoot Hollywood's "all with the highest name" madness. In essence, "Star Map" is a satirical text, whether it is Havana (played by Julian Moore) who constantly pressures herself to obtain a role and creates hallucinations, or someone who has been infected with bad habits prematurely since the beginning of a child star. Benjay (played by Ivan Bird), and Mrs. Weiss (played by Olivia Williams), who was still emotionally broken by her dual role as an agent and mother, talked about mental decompression on TV but couldn't deal with her father Mr. Weiss (played by John Cusack), the female problem, stumbling on the thorny road of fame and fortune is covered with blood. They lead a luxurious and even luxurious life, and they are somewhat entangled by depression and delusions. In public, they verbally drove jokes that only people in the circle could understand, and shared the private and dirty gossip, but in the next second they would become the jokes and talks of his population, and they would be shot by cold arrows released from nowhere. Vital. Starting from the story of Hollywood stars, "Star Map" explores and analyzes the alienated psychological world under the star system, and makes a relaxed psychoanalysis for this crazy era.
Although it's a Hollywood story, the "Star Map" crew only spent five days in Los Angeles (this is the first time Cronenberg was filmed in the United States in his life), and the rest of the filming was done in Toronto. However, in order to enhance the sense of realism, the Los Angeles scene put all the iconic Hollywood attractions into the lens: Rodeo Drive, Marmont Estate, Walk of Fame... In the Toronto scene, try to emphasize the indiscriminate imitation of Sunny California. , Palm trees can be seen in almost every location.
Realism alone is not Cronenberg's style. His skill is to add weirdness and absurdity to the seemingly ordinary life. There are many surreal passages in "Star Map" such as hallucinations and ghost collisions. Even the interior decoration and architectural style of the star homes emphasize an unreal psychedelic sense: in the extremely modern mansion of the Weiss family, there are sporadic scenes. It is dotted with several simple furniture, and the infinitely expanded space shows its empty side, which creates a sense of powerlessness that is difficult to get rid of visually. Mr. Weiss and his star client Havana are both believers in Eastern mysticism philosophy. The contradiction between secular pursuits and spiritual purification is difficult to bridge, and the emotions of the characters always show a sense of suffocation and tearing. In an impressive scene in the movie, Havana dressed in a sports vest poses in a cross-legged meditation posture while learning the bad news that he failed to cast a role during a hands-free call with his agent, no matter how deep Zen. She couldn't stop her eruption, and the ding-dong sound of the bells blowing in the breeze was finally submerged in her unrestrained howl.
Hollywood’s golden signs will always attract young boys and girls to follow desperately. In "Star Map", Agatha (Mia Huasikovska), a young girl who arrived in Los Angeles for the first time, and Jerome (Robert • Pattinson) is one of the representatives. Compared with those stars who have left handprints on the Avenue of Stars, these individuals who wander around seem to understand the meaning of love and being loved in life better: Agatha hopes that her parents who abandoned her can forgive her crazy behavior many years ago, Jie Roma hopes to prove his talent with writing. Perhaps here, Cronenberg tried to create two human bodies, leaving temperance after the fanaticism and hope in the absurdity. However, perhaps the director’s optimism is too strong. The satirical critical system constructed through characters, scenes, and sound effects in the first half of the film slipped to mediocrity at the end, and the exciting dialogue like a gunshot is not time to change. Become a tender and affectionate promise: Agatha and Benjie stole their parents' wedding rings separately, and they usually put them on each other's ring fingers. In the end, the "Star Atlas", which was full of vigor along the way, came to an abrupt end at a limp end.
Originally published in the 2014.6 issue of "Movie World"
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