NAKED LUNCH [1991]

IF ONLY THIS TYPEWRITER COULD SPEAK
...oh, wait a sec!

1991, Canada/U.K/Japan
David Cronenberg
8 // 10


What does a centipede taste like? How much insecticide is too much? Does Peter Weller have any face muscles? There's only one way to find out!

I guess I shouldn't be saying this too loud, but my adventure with Cronenberg's filmography has been a very brief one so far. I remember watching eXistenZ many years ago (too many years ago, I feel that a second helping might be in order) and more recently The Dangerous Method (which was rather underwhelming to say the least). A time has come though, and the Naked Lunch has finally made its way into my DVD player. Oh boi, was it worth the wait... And the first good thing, Peter Weller. The main reason why RoboCop is what it is, and probably the only reason why the Screamers is a bit of a cult film for some. If you imagine Jim Carrey as a sort of superhero of acting, then Peter Weller would become his arch-nemesis. He would ultimately win, as well. And yet, somehow, the man has got more skill in him, tension and emotionality than the whole cast of any given Michael Bay's picture. He doesn't act. He IS a presence on the screen. Unblinking, unsmiling and yet, unmissable.

As for the film, well, after eXistenZ I did expect a healthy dose of slimy things, so it didn't come as a surprise. Story-wise, once again I must come clean about my ignorance, and admit to not reading the Burrough's book, so I can't comment on how does the film stack up against the literary original. If you're like me, and you want to know here and now, Wikipedia will fill you in on that. Let's talk the personal perception then. Well, it's not for everybody. To be honest, earlier Cronenberg is not for everybody en masse, which (for some) is more the reason to love him. As for myself, I grew up devouring Lynch, Dali and Philip K. Dick. I say, a little bit of surrealistic, melting down reality I can take without a fuss. Brave boy, me. And if that's what you're after, the Naked Lunch delivers, to be sure. From the moment the main character, William Lee, gets high on the 'bug powder', the wild ride begins and at no point do we get to tell whether the story in front of our eyes is taking place in a bizarre, warped, but nevertheless 'reality', or is it just another hallucination within a hallucination. The story is just enough solid to give us something to grip onto, to carry us forward, but at the same time the uncertainty of what's really going on keeps us constantly on our toes. There's just enough consistency to let things make sense within the rules of the Interzone world and yet those rules are different to those of our world which makes all that beautiful tension to happen. And the way I see it, you can approach this film as a lot of surreal art in general. You either go deep and try to work out all the symbolism and bend over backwards in an effort to understand, or you can sit back and say: Hey! I don't think I get all of that, but I think I just like it. Either way, the Naked Lunch should make for a highly satisfying viewing. 

Unless glistening, talking insect typewriters entangled in a cloak and daggers spy conflict are not your thing, in which case go and watch some Disney.