Cosmopolis

Riding across Manhattan in a stretch limo in order to get a haircut, a 28-year-old billionaire asset manager's day devolves into an odyssey with a cast of characters that start to tear his world apart.

This film is a bit of an oddity. The dystopian present (or near-future as it may be) provides the backdrop for a sometimes confusing, and frequently bizarre, narrative. Barring a few very brief scenes, character interaction alone is what drives the plot and what are clearly very deliberate stylistic choices result in a somewhat disjointed experience.

The main driving force is a statement against capitalism, or at the very least a kind of foreshadowing of what the end result might be. There are several motifs used to get this point across, a few of which may feel jarring to some viewers. 

The characters that fall on the rich side of the divide are cold and emotionless, robotic even. Their dialogue is delivered with a detached indifference, though in some ways philosophical and occasionally dryly witty. The apparent lack of investment in personal relationships underpins the exchanges between them, noticeable even between husband and wife. There is also a distinct lack of warm colour in both costume and set - blacks, greys and cold blues being the order of the day. These people are almost aliens in our world. 

As an experience, it can be heavy going at times. The conversations that take place veer off in all sorts of odd, seemingly nonsensical directions that can make the action difficult to follow. I struggled to keep up on occasion and only found my way back at the start of the following scene. It may be that further viewings would be required to fully appreciate the depth of what is being said, though it may also be that it's deliberately obfuscating for whatever purpose. 

As well as the dialogue, there are decisions taken by some characters for which there at first looks to be no motivation. This can result in some reasonably shocking occurrences that leave you pondering what on earth is going on until later in the film. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but some won't like the uncertainty this casts over the progression of the plot. 

There is plenty to appreciate for those who like their cinema challenging and thought-provoking, but I can't say that I was particularly swayed either way as far as the allegorical content goes. Generally speaking, there is a lot going on beneath the obvious, plus enough on the surface to keep the attention. 

The Verdict:

7/10
A challenging film that will get you thinking if you're willing to take on its idiosyncrasies. Though it will probably take repeated viewings to fully appreciate, the first will be memorable, if not purely on the basis of its unconventional approach.