MovieChat Forums > Cosmopolis (2012) Discussion > Never seen so many people walk out!

Never seen so many people walk out!

posted 13 years ago by mpjepson
206 replies | jump to latest

I went to see Cosmopolis tonight. I should have stayed in and cut my toenails, or looked out of the window. I'm sure that would have been more interesting. More than half the cinema walked out. Admittedly there were only about 20 people to start with, but I counted barely half a dozen made it to the end. None of the walk outs were misguided teenagers coming along for the Pattinson ride; these were older cinema-goers obviously hoping for something a bit different from the usual multiplex-fodder.

Well, we got something different all right. Cosmopolis is truly awful. The dialogue is unbearably stagey, frequently incoherent, with characters lacking any convincing motivation for their bizarre actions. The sheer volume of dialogue wouldn't necessarily be such a bad thing if any of it actually carried some meaning. Brace yourself for nearly two hours of hot air & robotic performances which quickly grow tiring on the eyes & ears.

I haven't had this less fun since I watched Synecdoche New York! YMMV.

[–] rolotomasi_70-398-336619 13 years ago

Yes!
As someone who has seen more films than he's had hot dinners (and knows what Cinema is!) this is exactly as mpjepson states...
It is total headwank.... where Cronenberg quotes Polish poets and compares his ouevre to Joyce... The acting and the dialogue are appalling. It is the sort of film that if you don't walk out after twenty minutes you're doing something wrong... Either that, or you are one of those people who stays simply because they've paid the best part of a tenner to see it.
I was convinced after the contrivances of 'A History of Violence' and 'Dangerous Games' that like another David (lynch), Cronenberg had finally lost the plot. I wasn't wrong. This is what happens when all that fame goes to your head and you read a couple of books. People like Cronenberg should bow out gracefully (a bit like de Niro et al.) and take up pottery or something.. Problem is they're institutionalised, and addicted to the limelight... Someone should slap Cronenberg for this, esp. when far finer films are prevented from reaching our cinema screens because they don't have the pull like DC, or because our screens are filled with junk like this...

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[–] Underaglassbell 13 years ago

Synecdoche New York was/is excellent.

[–] Ferdinand-Montalban 13 years ago

lot of stupid people walked out when i saw it. personaly other than it being occasionaly a bit boring + slightly "pretentious" I thought it was great + was deliberately trying to piss off the sort of people who are complaining about it in this thread. You guys should just stick with your dumbass popcorn movies , when somebody makes an ambitious (if flawed) movie about something all you do is complain, you're morons holding everybody back + if you walked out of a 2hr movie 20 minutes into it you cant really judge it + you also have more money than sense.

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[–] jtf1986 12 years ago

Maybe you have more time than sense. Also, sunk costs are irrelevant.

[–] Faustus5 13 years ago

I would have to say that if the OP is accurate, I'm going to personally regard Cosmopolis as an idiot filter: the people who walk out can be dismissed as anti intellectual loser idiots.

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[–] Faustus5 13 years ago

I don't know about all that. I don't think a person should be classified as an idiot because of not liking the movie. I respect someone walking out and going to see something they'll enjoy. Another poster complained that the dialogue in DeLillo's book is not something that translates well to screen. She likes to be able to put the book down and think about it before she moves on. That didn't translate well to screen for her. I don't think that makes her anti-intellectual.

Okay, there may have been just a little touch of hyperbole in my post.

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[–] Ferdinand-Montalban 13 years ago

youre definetly right that this film suffers from having so much dialogue that you cant help feeling your missing a lot of what's actually being said, but this does give it some replay value (definetly want to see it again, which i cant say about a lot of other recent movies, even ones i enjoyed) , unlike the ass licking audience pleasing films most of these people would prefer to watch, its not just all spelled out for you crowd pleasing stuff. personally in this day and age seeing a film that almost seemed to be a *beep* you to 90 percent of the audience (IE most of the people complaining who just wanted a nice happy story about superheroes they could veg out to) is great + should be applauded when just about everything else is just trying to please people in an almost manipulative way.

As far as I know though if you walk out of a film you cant just get your money back and go see something else (unless its in the first ten minutes in which case you haven't seen the film anyway and cant really complain) so overall i do think this film is pretty flawed but the good stuff in it makes it better or at least more interesting than most of the films out nowadays. this film actually had some balls, people should be discussing this more than that prometheus junk which was just some *beep* designed to make you feel like you been entertained while really just showing you some pretty colours and grabbing your cash

[–] mpjepson 13 years ago

adam padmon wrote: "I would have to say that if the OP is accurate, I'm going to personally regard Cosmopolis as an idiot filter: the people who walk out can be dismissed as anti intellectual loser idiots."

You are implying that Cosmopolis is an intellectual movie for intellectual people. I'd be grateful if you could point out the deeply significant insights this movie was supposed to be offering, because all I heard was a load of sophomoric, pretentious crap.

[–] CurzonStreet 13 years ago

Reviews have discussed the plot, and they don't view it as pretentious crap. Everyone has their own opinion.
http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/2012/05/cannes-film-festival-2012-c osmopolis/

An all-too-briefly glimpsed, Occupy-ish protest involving rats and self-immolation suggests another longstanding Cronenberg theme: terrorism as performance art. Everything leads up to a confrontation with a former employee (Paul Giamatti), the source of that aforementioned credible threat. By far the longest exchange in Cosmopolis's otherwise brisk forward rush, their loopy banter could easily have lost traction entirely and spun off into caricature, but Giamatti and Pattinson manage to keep it viable. Moreover, the final scene's squalor and moral rot provides a distinct visual echo of Videodrome's finale, while Packer's speculations on violence and its roots plays like an explicit reprise of A History of Violence.

and-
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/after-the-boos-reviewing- the-cannes-film-festival/?smid=tw-nytimesmovies&seid=auto

Yet as the limo inches across the city, where the traffic has been slowed to a creep by a presidential motorcade, a celebrity funeral and anarchist outrage, you begin to realize this is a man being chauffeured to his own funeral. As a diagnosis of what ails us, “Cosmopolis” would make an excellent if slightly nauseating double-bill with Mary Harron’s Wall Street horror shocker, “American Psycho.”

Both Cosmopolis trailers: http://ow.ly/1iTyiC
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[–] mpjepson 13 years ago

CurzonStreet - have you actually seen this film, or are you just spending your time regurgitating positive reviews? One could just as easily start copy n' pasting the bad reviews but.... If you've actually seen Cosmopolis, please offer up YOUR OWN judgements. That's what a discussion board is for.

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[–] CurzonStreet 13 years ago

http://www.sabotagetimes.com/tv-film/cosmopolis-or-how-robert-pattinso n-plunged-a-stake-through-edward-cullens-heart/ excerpt:

Kudos to him then for taking on Cosmopolis, a dark, challenging, radical change of pace directed by David Cronenberg. I’ll cut right to the chase: The film is an absolute work of art, and Robert Pattinson’s performance is nothing short of stunning.

Six people walked out of the Cosmopolis screening I attended, presumably they were twi-hards who wanted to see Robert Pattinson be Robert Pattinson, or maybe they wanted something linear and easy to follow. Ignore them and go and see this film, probably the most exciting piece of cinema this century.

IGNORE Trolls, no point in giving them the attention they want.

[–] CurzonStreet 12 years ago

RT @eugenenovikov There's this movie that I liked a bunch, but now I keep thinking it might be great, and it's called COSMOPOLIS, and I need to see it again.

RT @stavsherez My two favourite films of the year, Killer Joe & Cosmopolis, both out on DVD in the next fortnight. Can't wait to immerse myself once more.
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[–] blackbeanie 13 years ago

It's difficult (and maybe a bit pretentious) to consider a movie intellectual. But on the other hand, a movie made by a very respected director based on a novel of a very respected author is not crap IMHO.
The biggest issue, I think, with Cosmopolis is that (as another poster has written)while reading you can put the book aside and think of what is written. In theatre you can't push the pause and rewind button to listen again to what is said.
It's not that what is said is all intellectual, but some quotes and one liners need to sink before you get the deeper meaning.
The whole final scene is very powerful. How many people wouldn't like to call out those who have the power to make or break them?
Almost the whole Eurozone is suffering from those powerful people who thought they could fly close to the sun. But in that case they'll never fall as deep as the hard working people who can bring in the money to get Europe out of the crisis. In my country, because of the megalomania of some bankers (the 1%)the government had to give a guarantee for so many milliards of euro's that our whole country will be bankrupt if the moment comes we'll have to pay back. We will all be thrown into poverty.
I have seen the movie three times and each time I felt this connection with Benno watching the final scene. On the other hand I felt for Eric too.
Difficult movie, yes.

[–] Fadu-K7 13 years ago

I do not understand why so many people go about attacking each other instead of stating general points.

I feel like this movie will either be loved, or hated. Black or white without the gray area of "Oh it was OK I guess".

For the record, I am a fan of Robert Pattinson, if not for his performances; then for his ability to try his best and kick that really terrible character of Edward Cullen from those horrid Twilight films.

Plus, this is not so much Pattinson's fault as it is the Director's, or possible writer's. As far as I am concerned, critics have praised his performance as Pecker.

It is just unfortunate that this Cronenberg picture was not able to live up to its hype, as much as its expectations set by the movies own Director. Also unfortunate that the movie also includes Robert Pattinson; bad luck I guess.

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[–] Fadu-K7 13 years ago

This is the exact childish behaviour I can't stand on IMDB. Instead of responding with a more mature group of words, you point out some tiny mistake that doesn't change anything except the fact that you can spell the characters name correctly.

The man played the character he was supposed to portray. Why wold he play Packer any other way then the way it was meant?

In the end this is just a movie, I might not like it, and then again I might. What happens happens. Cronenberg would not have made this decision had he not thought it was a good idea.

[–] estocade 13 years ago

Yes, he was good as Eric Pecker, he really did nailed the vampire part this time.
But maybe they should have cast Dafoe, I think he's the best vampire.

[–] MareksGregs 13 years ago

A lot of people walked out on The Tree Of Life too, but it was damn good.
So thanks for the heads up but I think I'll go and have a look anyway.

[–] AllyCat_L 13 years ago

And a lot of people walked out of Melancholia, too.

I asked my my coworker how was the film, he answered; "Oh, really good! All those [censored] did walk out!"

[–] d_man1890 13 years ago

I've went to a special screening held for Film Students and a lot of them left the film after the first half-hour. Frankly, I don't blame them. The movie felt blank and just nihilistic to a point where you stop caring about the characters. There were a couple of good moments, albeit short and scarce.

[–] Tedracat 13 years ago

It's designed to make you feel that way. That's one of the things that's cool about it. It's a real study of cinema and its ability to manipulate through an effort to alienate. It's cerebral versus emotional - there is no sentiment.

I think enjoyment of Cosmopolis really depends on what the viewer brings to the theatre. If you're looking for a traditional realist narrative, action, emotional engagement and a story to escape into, this isn't it. If you find ideas, concepts, and abstractions interesting and fun, you get this and enjoy it.

Popcorn is anti-cinema

[–] carrona 13 years ago

I agree. I lasted 15 minutes. Four lucky people actually escaped from this cr@p before me.

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[–] strangenoise 13 years ago

Yeah, Cronenberg is a hit-or-miss matter. Still, I will see this one as soon as it opens in theatres here in Germany. Cosmopolis is (I stress: IMO) one of the best books I've read in the last 15 years. And yes, I know, a lot of people won't share my view and Don DeLillo has his share of other great works, but yet... At least this thread ensured I won't walk out. If it's a miss for Cronenberg: better luck next - still: kudos for trying to make a movie of something that seemed completely impossible to bring on the big screen.

[–] blackbeanie 13 years ago

I agree with your view on the book Cosmopolis. It's one of the most fascinating books I've read in the past years and it proves that you don't have to write a thick book to tell a meaningful story. On the contrary, DeLillo has this rare talent to write in one sentence where other authors need pages and pages. I've read other work of him, not White noise and Underworld as I can't find them in libraries, but for me Cosmo is outstanding.
You will love the movie, though some scenes are left out, but the mood is recreated beautifully. I'm quite sure you will appreciate Pattinson's performance as well, he really is Eric Packer.
I wish I could see the movie one more time but it has already left theatre.