Product Details

• Actors: Robert Pattinson, Paul Giamatti
• Directors: David Cronenberg
• Format: NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Studio: EOne
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (229 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B009AMABH6
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #290,934 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Cosmopolis" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Cosmopolis DVD 2012

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

105 of 132 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Meaning in life September 18, 2012

By Mary

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

*Contains Spoilers*

I read this book when Robert Pattinson signed on to the project, and to be honest, I didn't like it on the first reading. It grew on me by the second reading, but the movie made me love it. One of the challenges Cosmopolis faces is that it's impossible complete the phrase, "The moral of the story is...." and so many people, me included, dislike things that can't be easily defined. I've seen interviews with David Cronenberg and Robert Pattinson where they say that it is impossible to tell you what they story is about, but don't make the mistake of thinking that it's about nothing, it's just about open to so many interpretations that it's impossible to pin down. I'll give you mine, but rest assured that if you don't like what I see, chances are you'll see something else entirely anyway.

The story, in it's most basic form, is about Eric Packer's limo ride across the crowded city to get a haircut. He encounters various people and scenarios along the way, and inexpicably he encounters his new wife at several stops along the way, even though that would seem to be impossible since he's seemingly moving forward (albeit slowly) and she appears to intend to remain somewhat stationary. In a sense I think the limo ride is a microcosm for a Eric's journey through life. There is that saying that some people are in your life for a reason and some people are in your life for a season and I think he encounters his wife several times as a symbol of all people in a person's life that they keep coming back to, but it's poignant because he never really understands her, or her him even though there is that desire. They both very much are pretending to be normal, or at least understand normal, and don't we all feel that way sometimes?... Even if he doesn't realize it the limo can be seen as his hearse because life is, afterall, a journey toward death. It's important to note that Eric is going to all this trouble of traveling across town to see his father's barber, which I think is symbolic of Eric's desire to somehow either connect with his past, become like or understand his father, or reach some sort of arbitrary life goal he's set for himself based on familial expectations all while he's sprucing himself up for his inevitable demise.

One of the few misses in this movie is that Cronenberg left out a scene where Eric encounters "three hundred naked people sprawled in the street" and he takes off his clothes and joins them and even thinks he sees his wife, Elise, in the crowd. In the book, I thought this was the only time that Eric really seemed to fit in with the people around him and it seemed to be the first time he understood Elise. It seemed like a sort of ritualistic cleansing before burial for Eric. Cronenberg also leaves out that in addition to Eric losing all his money he also intentionally loses all of Elise's as well. I think this points to the "you can't take it with you" philosophy and helps Eric resign himself to the fact that he's done. That Cronenberg didn't focus on these two bits of information makes me think that my entire interpretation of the story is wrong and you all should go about your day. Nothing to see here folks.

In a much hyped about scene worth the price of admission, Eric Packer encounters Benno Levin, his "stalker" for lack of a better word, played by Paul Giamatti. The fact that Eric Packer's security team has been working locating an undetermined "threat" to Eric's safety which was presumably Levin, but that Eric inexplicably stumbles upon the warehouse where he is hiding with no real reason for going there in the first place calls for a similar suspension of disbelief to the one that allows you to believe that Eric can repeatedly and coincidentally encounter Elise when he is traveling and she, seemingly, is not. It brought to mind that moment in Fight Club when you learn that Edward Norton IS Tyler Durden. Imagining that that scene might be taking place inside Eric's head kinda blows my mind. That being said, I'm pretty sure I'm wrong.

This movie is worth being seen because it is one of very few thinking movies. Much has been made about the fact that the timing of this movie coincides nicely with the Occupy Wallstreet movement but even though there are so many aspects of this movie that can make you think about the validity (or invalidity) of the financial market, this movie is really just about one person trying to find meaning in life. Read more ›

43 of 57 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A Day In The Life: Love It Or Hate It, Cronenberg's Latest Provocation Is A Unique Intellectual Exercise December 19, 2012

By K. Harris HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWER

Format:Amazon Instant Video

From the strange to the sublime, few filmmakers have fascinated me more than David Cronenberg. The Canadian auteur has made some of my all time favorites, and his distinctive sense of macabre humor and his skewed world view is in evidence even in his most mainstream work. With a string of great films that included Scanners, Videodrome, The Dead Zone, The Fly and Dead Ringers, he earned a nickname (a personal favorite) as the King of Venereal Horror. But not to limit himself to genre work, he also scored accolades for his interpretation of Naked Lunch, A History of Violence, and Eastern Promises. I love Cronenberg in case you couldn't tell! Even his less successful pictures courted big ideas (Existenz, Spider) and/or great shock value (Crash). Say what you will, Cronenberg makes the films he wants to make and to heck with anyone else! I have to respect that. That is a large preface to discussing his latest effort "Cosmopolis," which in my estimation is a film that will elicit strong reactions from its viewers in both the negative and the positive sense. Adapting Don DeLillo's novel of the same name, the film unravels like a surreal (and utterly deadpan) dream as society teeters on the brink of anarchy.

Robert Pattinson veers about as far away from his Twilight role as one movie will allow. I appreciate that he wants to stretch as an actor and Cronenberg is notoriously good with his performers (Jeremy Irons' best work is in Dead Ringers and Jeff Goldblum was never better than in The Fly). Pattinson plays a financial genius who is betting his company's fortune on the day's events. In the midst of increasing turmoil, however, he becomes obsessed with riding across town to seek out a barber from his past.... The cityscape as he travels very slowly in his limo is decidedly dystopian with riots and confrontations brewing. Along the way, Pattinson holds court with various people who drop into and out of his car. Among the bigger names that he encounters through the course of this day are Juliette Binoche, Samantha Morton, and Paul Giamatti. The movie is basically made up of random scenes and discussions that directly relate to our fascination with money, power, technology, and information. As the movie progresses, however, these themes lead to greater violence and even revolution. It is a cerebral exercise as much as a movie experience. There is a fair chance that you will be intrigued by its ideas, but an equal proportion of viewers will find the experience lacking. I suspect there will be little middle ground.

For my taste, "Cosmopolis" falls into the interesting failure category in Cronenberg's filmography. The movie has a purposeful chilliness and remoteness that can make every conversation seem like it is in monotone. There is a certain humor underlying the proceedings, and the movie does work as a deadpan satire. It is an unrepentantly bleak indictment of modern society and its values. Some of the character interactions are quite entertaining, some are a bit more perplexing. There are a lot of significant points to ponder, but the screenplay tends to handle most matters with a fairly heavy hand. By the time things start escalating out of control, I found myself not caring very much. And the big payoff comes in the form of a confrontation with a lively Giamatti (after all the stilted talk, Giamatti appears as if in a different movie altogether). But even this moment never really satisfies. "Cosmopolis" was interesting, to say the least, but I simply found that some of its parts were stronger than it as a whole. Not conventional in any sense, this may be a love-it or hate-it proposition. As a huge Cronenberg fanatic, I ended up being strangely apathetic. KGHarris, 12/12. Read more ›

61 of 84 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth It! September 21, 2012

By lahani

Format:DVD

I won't try and explain this movie to you, because I think it's impossible to do. There are many, many interpretations of what goes on and I believe that you have to see it for yourself to determine what it means to you. That being said, I had great conversation afterwards trying to decide just what I thought it portrayed, and I came up with several. I will finally just say that this is definitely one that I will purchase so that I can watch and re-watch it. And I'm sure that every time I see it I will come up with something different. THAT's what makes this a great movie to me! The acting, especially by Robert Pattinson, was absolutely phenomenal. The ensemble actors were all wonderful though and each brought something very different to the movie. I can't wait until this becomes available - I will be first on the list and suggest that you get on that list as well!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars I wanted to like this movie, but... March 2, 2013

By Paul Allaer TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Let me state upfront that I am generally a big fan of Canadian director David Cronenberg, even though his movies are hits and misses, but even in the misses, Cronenberg seems to bring a unique persepctive.

"Cosmopolis" (2012 release; 109 min.) brings the story of Eric Packer (played by Robert Pattison), a 28 yr. old financial Wall Street whiz kid who uses his stretch limousine pretty much as his office, and we see the limo driving in New York towards his barber as Packer needs to get a haircut. Several events intervene, and that is when things starts to unravel, seemingly without sense or purpose.

Several comments: to tell you that I am bewildred, and disappointed, by this movie, would be an understatement. Characters come and go, and it's hard to understand why. Juliette Binoche, who gets 2nd star lining in the movie just below Pattison, appears out of nowhere having sex with Packer in the limo and is in the movie for all of about 10 min. or so. Then there are the improbable, at times laughable lines. Such as Packer saying "My prostate is asymmetrical" to a woman, who responds "What does that mean?" and Packer responding "I don't know". And then later on Benni (played by Paul Giamatti) exclaiming "I have my syndromes, you have your complexes. You did it to yourself!", and on and on. On a minor plus side, the movie does feature a couple of songs from fellow Canadian indie-band Metric. If you wonder why I watched the movie to the end, all I can offer is that I was hoping it would get better and I was on a 15 hr. trans-pacific flight and simply killing time. Bottom line, as much as I like David Cronenberg and wanted to like this movie, I cannot recommend this movie, sorry.