Fifty Shades of Chrononberg

If you've been missing pure David Chrononberg then Crimes of the Future has you covered. It has the lot; body mutilation, main character undergoing a metamorphosis, questions about what defines being human, integrity of the mind, the collision of different world views and pretty much every other recurring theme of his is present and correct. So needless to say, it isn't for everyone.

The film takes place in the (possibly near) future, when most humans have evolved to no longer feel pain and in some cases grow mysterious new organs. Viggo Maortensen and Lea Seydoux play a pair of performance artists whose act revolves around removing Mortensen's excess organs in front of a live crowd. Fittingly, given its focus on artits, the film takes place in the orbit of the protagonists with little shown of the world at large. Everything is dingy and grimey, hinting things aren't going swimmingly, and there are vaugue hints at ecological disaster but the characters are all far more focused on the human body than the ecosystem it lives in. Outside interests such as law enforcement, corperations and regulatory bodies are represented by one or two individuals, including a scene stealing performance from Kristen Stewart as an awkward organ cataloguer.

As you might expect, Crimes of the Future is far more interested in themes and ideas than it is with plot or character development and it does provide plenty of food for thought (although maybe not much Chrononberg hasn't served up before). The slow pace and an ending resolution that comes out of nowhere will be off putting to some but the multitude of company logos at the start of the film are testament to how hard it is to get something like this made these days and it should be appreciated.

8 redundant growths out of 10 organs.

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