Spider Poster

Spider (2002)

Drama | Thriller 
Rayting:   6.8/10 35.8K votes
Country: Canada | UK
Language: English
Release date: 10 July 2003

A mentally disturbed man takes residence in a halfway house. His mind gradually slips back into the realm created by his illness, where he replays a key part of his childhood.

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Afzal-s2007 22 September 2007

David Cronenberg's film, based on a novel adapted by its author, Patrick McGrath, is set in London in the late 1980's, and explores the effects of an infamous Conservative government policy, whereby expensive, outdated mental hospitals were streamlined and the inmates released with limited supervision, a process that was termed Care in the Community. The film focuses on Spider, an elusive mental patient, institutionalised for most of his life, now released and returned back to a halfway house in East London, the place of his childhood, to fend for himself in the outside world.

This does not look to the uninformed like a Cronenberg film, there being no teleportation, telepathic head-blowing or the like, but once viewed, the film is clearly in Cronenberg's territory. From the beginning of the 1990's, he has seemed to be searching (it seems to me at times desperately) for new subjects in which to explore his morbid fascination. This fascination concerns the consequences of illness. Illness is given outrageous forms in his earlier films, a car accident which debilitates Christopher Walken in The Dead Zone, for instance, one of its effects being morbid clairvoyance. In Spider, Cronenberg focuses on the effect of illness on the brain, with its manifestation in what we would call the real world, when scientists actually view our 'real' world as a simulation made by our brains (and therefore our bodies).

As ever, Cronenberg, unlike other directors, does not condescend and go for the easy option, in other words making Spider a neatly disturbed, good-looking human, glamorised by his tragic sense of unreality, i.e. A Beautiful Mind. Instead, he really explores what it might be like for an intelligent man who tries to make sense of a world and past warped by mental disturbance, and questions his perception and sense of reality. Cronenberg gives Spider pathos and humanity, but never glamorises him.

Ralph Fiennes inhabits Spider naturally and impressively, bringing to the role his consistent qualities of commitment and intensity. The supporting cast is wonderful. Gabriel Byrne plays Spider's father with his rich sourness and Miranda Richardson, in a double role, shows why she is such a hidden, rough gem of British acting (at least to the wider world).

In Spider, Cronenberg Is Back To His Best With A Characteristically Original Film About Society and Mental Illness

oso_travis 10 December 2003

Fmovies: I loved this film! The novel that is based on, must have a lot of Freud psyche theories, because the film just reflects it. And in such a perfect manner. Cronenberg has reached a point where he has got a mature talent.

It is a brilliant exploration of the Unconscious, of The Edipus Complex, and of Guilt. Cronenberg does for The Edipus Complex here, what Lynch did for The Nightmare in "Mullholland Dr." We really get into Gleg "Spider"'s mind. And it's very terrifying and disturbing inside. Not pretty at all.

The cast did an outstanding job. All my praises should go to Fiennes, and especially to Miranda Richardson who plays three different characters with a master talent. She's living prove that there's no justice at the Oscars.

If you study psychiatry or psychology go and see it! It's a must see. If you love cinema, go and see it also. One of the year's best.

george.schmidt 5 March 2003

SPIDER (2003) *** Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne, Bradley Hall, Lynn Redgrave, John Neville. Filmmaker David Cronenberg does it again : mixing psychological drama with Gothic mystery with the cloak of violence in the air with Fiennes (in a brilliantly mannered near mute turn) as the titular character, a schizophrenic recently released to a halfway house, nicknamed in his youth by his mother (Richardson who gives an excellent turn to the third power; she inhibits three interlaced roles that act as the story's linchpin) for his cat's cradle yarn confections which sends his scattershot memories into overdrive as he attempts to connect the missing pieces of his life. Told in intersperses of flashback Cronenberg expertly uses his persuasive powers of dread eke out the thin plottings of Patrick McGrath's novel – who adapted the screenplay too – that can tax on the nerves in long, baroque stretches of near silence. Dank, rotting production design by Andrew Sanders, excellently lensed by Peter Suschitzky and the chamber music-like score by Howard Shore makes the most of its broken-minded protagonist's living nightmare.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews 1 May 2005

Spider fmovies. After seeing every single Cronenberg film I've been able to find, I've come to one simple conclusion: I've seen entirely too little of his works. I have yet to see one film of his that I found a complete waste of time(though I did not find much point in The Brood). This is quite possibly my favorite film of his yet, and I guess that says something about how few of his films I've seen(as this seems like one of his more unappreciated films). The film is quite dark and bleak. It has a fairly slow pace, but there's plenty of atmosphere and I never really felt like turning it off. The plot is very good, and I liked the way it developed somewhat out of joint, with little continuity other than the main plot-line. The acting is superb. One actress performs two roles, and does so with such talent that I never realized they were being portrayed by one and the same person. I only discovered this after checking out the cast list. Spider is a very unsettling film, but I suppose Cronenberg has done far better in other films. For some reason, I just found this the more easily accessible of his films, the one that requires least afterthought to be understood, to decipher what he wanted to say. All of the other films by him that I've seen, I've required to basically 'be told' what the film was about... with this one, I thought for a while after seeing it, and figured it out, put the pieces together myself, without much difficulty. Maybe that's a problem for the film... it's too simple. It's far more simple than the usual Cronenberg, and that is what makes me like it more, and his more experienced and analyzing fans like it less. I recommend this film to any fan of Cronenberg and/or dark films. Don't expect to be able to figure out the film from just one viewing, and don't take anything you see in it at face value. 8/10

Ben_Cheshire 14 July 2004

We watch Spider (Ralph Fiennes) at the present time, trying to live at a boarding house which takes pity on people who should legally be in mental institutions, and, in parallel action, watch him reliving his childhood, doomed to stand watching those events play out again and again, an observer as impotent as he felt when they originally happened.

This film is a mystery into the character and history of Ralph Fiennes' character. Its a little film, dealing with the mind of one troubled little man, and a patient film. Its also a very mature film from Cronenberg, where he has done away with the shock tactics of the past, and the results are delightful. But if you don't like patient films (and you might see it as a slow film - don't expect big action, expect to watch a fascinating character - and maybe discover why he's so troubled), watch any of Cronenberg's previous efforts instead.

Its not a very big or important film - not one of the most essential films of 2002, but if you've seen those more important choices, and are looking for something different, Spider may just be an interesting, atmospheric experience for you.

8/10. Maybe I was just in the perfect mood for it, but i loved Spider. I thought it was a beautiful and atmospheric character study. Spider is a real unique character, brought to life vividly by Ralph Fiennes.

LingXiaoyu 21 April 2005

This film is one of the most under-rated, I have to say. I know it takes awhile to get into and you have to use your mind while you watch it but it's not THAT complicated, is it? Especially if you watch this film more than once you really become to understand what it is it with Spider. I don't want to give away the plot, because you really have to see it for yourself. It's surprising and pleasantly different.

I have to highlight the acting in the film, it's that superb. All the actors are just simply amazing, taking the acting to a completely new level. So, if you want to try something that's not so mainstream film-making, watch Spider. I dare you.

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