Crimes of the Future is the new science fiction and horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg. Cronenberg had taken a hiatus from feature films for almost a decade. Now, he returns to give us his take on a dystopian future where humanity’s evolution has been mysteriously jumpstarted.
This is a world he has built is a world of humans who do not experience physical pain and infectious diseases have been eliminated. One would think that these leaps in human evolution would bring peace and harmony. Instead, this future leads to behaviors we consider unethical today, including recreational surgeries and body manipulation. Human evolution is still in high gear, as some humans can be found growing novel body parts and organs with unknown functions.
Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortenson) and Caprice (Léa Seydoux) are performance artists. Their performance art is pretty grotesque, as it centers on the surgical removal of Saul’s newly grown organs. These new organs cause Saul immense pain. It is almost as if his body is trying to destroy itself. The pain and torment make his body manipulation necessary and gives his art meaning.
Their popular performance art attracts the attention of Lang (Scott Speedman), the leader of an anti-government evolution group. He wants Saul to perform an autopsy of his son for his next act, believing that the autopsy will uncover some new truth for humanity.
Additionally, Saul and Caprice cooperate with the National Organ Registry, led by Wippet (Don McKellar) and Timlin (Kristen Stewart). These two scientists seem to have both a fear and an infatuation with the current jumpstart in human evolution. Saul’s work with the National Organ Registry and his considerations of Lang’s request conflict throughout the film.
This movie is very challenging, and candidly, freaking nuts. Most of Cronenberg’s works are this way. Cronenberg creates a dystopian land with rules and lore quite different from ours. However, Cronenberg doesn’t waste time explaining this world to you through exposition. Instead, you learn about this dystopian landscape bit by bit through character interaction and visuals.
Not only are you trying to connect some frame of reference for this world, but you are also trying to grapple with themes of climate change, government overreach, human excess, and morality along the way.
You leave the theater wondering, “What in the hell did I just watch?”
It’s tough to explain this film-going experience. It certainly is not enjoyable in any way. It does create an uncomfortable fascination with this future world. You find yourself horrified and shocked by imagery and acts that the people of this timeline seem to deem to be quite typical or even expected. You leave the theater wondering, “What in the hell did I just watch?”
I’m not sure why Crimes of the Future received a summer release. It seems out of place amid the spectacle we are used to in the summer season. I would have expected this to be either released in the Spring or early Fall season, when movie audiences may be more open to a mind-melding experience. Still, Crimes of the Future was competently made, the actors gave great performances, and it moved quickly, with a run time of under two hours. It is quintessential Cronenberg. However, unlike other Cronenberg properties (The Fly, A History of Violence), I don’t see myself revisiting this dystopian land on a rewatch anytime soon.
