Expected more

Best movie ever!

A Masterpiece!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

powerful. convincing. uncomfortable. or only a Cronenberg. admirable performances. and the wise science to use the plot possibilities in the right directions. a film about illness. or about illusion. or the need to escape from yourself. not original but perfect made. and this did it the perfect choice for the admirers of genre or director. short, one of films who remains in memory as the precise portrait of a state. who could be defined in many ways. but this is the source of fascination. a murder. and the looking for truth. different clues. and the deep solitude. and nothing more. that is all.

First of all, in order to fully appreciate Spider it requires more than a single viewing - at least 2 are necessary. Secondly,if you grew up in England, especially London, that would have helped, as many of the idioms spoken in this film, eg 'wicking' (as used by Yvonne Wilkinson - meaning 'annoying') were very much around in 1950s London. There are some other parochial phrases used which would be lost on most Americans. Curiously, looking at the subtitles for Spider a lot of the phrases have been wrongly interpreted, (probably compiled by Americans).Anyway, the first time I saw this, I didn't really get it either. At the same time I felt I hadn't given this film a proper chance, and when I did decide to revisit it I realized what a subtle, if strange and depressing movie it was. I've watched this several times since and on each occasion it became more fascinating, gradually dawning on me how much I'd missed in some of the more suggestive and important scenes. Eg, how many viewing this for the first time recognized that the actress playing Yvonne Wilkinson flashing her breast at young Spider, was not Miranda Richardson, who played Yvonne in all the subsequent scenes. There was a good reason for that of course. Also I realized why the imposing gasometer structure seen by Spider from his bedroom window seemed to terrify him. There are plenty of other examples. Once you notice what you missed first time around and more, you can appreciate this film so much better.But most viewers do not have the time or patience these days to allow a 'slow' film like Spider to develop, so naturally Spider will never see the light of day again for those with a short attention span. That's their loss though. You can make films about mental illness in a more entertaining way - eg. A Beautiful Mind. But in the end Spider digs that much deeper. Full credit to David Cronenberg for having the balls to make such an unconventional film, yet brilliant study of the schizophrenic mind. And needless to say Ralph Fiennes performance as the confused, mumbling Spider is extraordinary.

* A stunning psychological thriller, with very unexpected turns, like in true thriller. However, the film avoids the horror trap, where the shocking scenes are the film's objective in itself. There are no such scenes in this film. * Though a thriller, yet not intended to be only that. Instead, it is an almost clinical, cold description of a schizophrenic. One almost feels what it is like to be a schizophrenic. This was so expressive that I had dreams the night after I saw the film, which I seldom have. * The film shows a deep human tragedy of the main character. However, it does not fall into the trap: "that poor mentally-disturbed human and that inhuman society which treats him as ... mentally-disturbed". * Summing up: - A brilliant thriller with a psychological depth, or rather a drama in a thriller setting. - But neither masterpiece of thriller nor masterpiece of drama. - With superb acting (R. Fiennes - main character) and direction (D. Cronenberg). - Leaves a deep, long-lasting impression and many questions to think about. - I could watch this film once more after some time.

Spider marks David Cronenberg's inevitable move from body horror and dark fantasy into more realistic (if that term can be used) realms, and further into the human psych, even more so than 1996's Crash. Over the following decade Cronenberg would go on to make A History of Violence, Eastern Promises and A Dangerous Method, three films which would move further away from the body and into the mind, into the roots of human violence and psychosis, and all three would achieve more commercial success than anything Cronenberg made before. Spider isn't quite as communicative as those three, and it suffers from some pacing problems, but by its own right it's a fascinating film and a unique one in Cronenberg's filmography.Spider has many flaws, but it excels wonderfully in two aspects. First, a truly powerful twist ending, which never feels far-fetched, and in fact can be anticipated some time in advance by an observant viewer, and yet manages to shock even if you knew it was coming, much more so than most famous twists in more recent films. Second, in that it creates real tension and interest while nothing much ever really happens on screen (and in that regard it's easy to compare it to Shutter Island, which is based around some similar themes, with a much more complex and contrived plot and with a much less effective ending). It doesn't always work; the pacing is off sometimes and some parts of the films drag by and lose the viewer's interest. It takes a lot of patience to go through, more than classic Cronenberg fantasies like Videodrome or The Fly, and more than the more fast-paced A History of Violence and Eastern Promises. But it's more rewarding in its own way, and the ending is good enough that you might want to watch it a second time.