Cosmopolis Reviews Part 6: Robert Pattinson gives "a frightening performance in the best ways and points towards a hell of a career"

Cosmopolis Reviews Part 6: Robert Pattinson gives "a frightening performance in the best ways and points towards a hell of a career"

UPDATE: More reviews at the top! "Pattinson brings snap and intelligence to DeLillo's death-haunted dialogue..."



Cosmopolis is opening today (Aug. 2nd) in Australia! Click HERE to visit RPAustralia's site for listings.

In a couple of weeks, it will hit stateside, opening in the US under limited release Aug. 17th (LA/NYC) and the following week, Aug. 24th, across the US. We'll be posting theater information daily starting tomorrow. Feel free to email us any theaters you find announcements for as well.

Several reviews will be coming out and have already come out for the film. If you missed our previous review posts, click the links to check them out. They're pretty fantastic. :)

• Part 1 - "Robert Pattinson giving a commanding, sympathetic portrait!"
• Part 2 - "Sensational central performance from Robert Pattinson"
• Part 3 - Robert Pattinson is "excellent in a difficult role"
• Part 4: Robert Pattinson's performance is "incredible", "riveting", "layered" and "one of the best of the year"
• Part 5: "Robert Pattinson is quite astonishing in the role as Packer"
• Spoiler Post #1
• Spoiler Post #2 + Tink's Review from the Toronto Premiere Viewing
• Spoiler Post #3 + Kate's Review from the Irish Press Screening

What are the latest things critics have said about Rob's performance and this compelling film?

The overall review wasn't positive but what was positive? Popcorn Junkie's impression of Rob:

There is a distinct whiff of arrogance that surrounds the film and most of it comes from Pattinson’s performance. His character sits on a mobile throne with nothing but venom for the world he subtly controls with wealth and power. It’s an impressive feat for Pattison and his gaunt physique and slick haircut adds to the frame of a nightmarish yuppie – this guy makes Gordon Gekko from Wall Street look like a teddy bear.

Excerpt from The West Australia:

Many critics have criticised Cronenberg for replicating almost scene for scene DeLillo's slender novel, right down to the highly mannered ideas-encrusted dialogue which is delivered without passion or spontaneity. One reviewer even complained the film lacked "heart".  

But this is the very subject of the movie - the replacement of heart and soul and all the human stuff by the brutal logic of "cyber-capitalism", in which the fate of nations is now determined by the movement of numbers.  

None of this quite emerges as forcefully and frighteningly as it does in the book but it's hard to imagine an actor better in the role of Eric than Pattinson, who brings snap and intelligence to DeLillo's death-haunted dialogue (Cronenberg has even suggested Eric is actually dead) at the same time as suggesting the man he once was. 

If you thought his Edward Cullen was a cold bloodsucking parasite wait until you get a load of his Eric Packer.

From Filmosphere giving Cosmopolis 4 out of 5 stars:

Et au delà de seconds rôles assez géniaux, comme des petites parties d’un monde déjà enseveli, tout le film est porté par la révélation d’un Robert Pattinson impérial, qui se révèle capable de soutenir un film aussi fort sur ses jeunes épaules. Il est bluffant, et confirme que certains talents ne peuvent se révéler qu’au contact de grands metteurs en scène.
(And beyond supporting roles pretty awesome, as small parts of a world already buried, while the film is carried by the revelation of an imperial Robert Pattinson, who proved capable of supporting a film as hard on his young shoulders. It is astonishing, and confirmed that some talents can prove that in contact with great directors.)

From House of Paradox:

There are plenty of close-ups of Robert Pattinson and he's in every scene, his character is tough, cold hearted and calculating - kind of a passive aggressive, financial vampire and he plays it extremely well. Pattinson is clearly trying to round out the scripts he chooses and building a nice portfolio of work.

From QuickFlix:

Pattinson, like Jeff Goldblum, and James Woods, and Viggo Mortensen before him, has one of those perfect Cronenbergian faces. It’s as if he’s been moulded – shark-like, from the eyes to the jowls – to become the ultimate receptacle for the movie’s message.

Indiewire named Cosmopolis #1 on their 12 films to see this August list. Also commented that Cosmopolis is "much more thought provoking star-powered cinematic option than almost anything else this summer."

From Shotgun Critic, 4 stars:

As an adaptation of the equally unapproachable novel by Don DeLillo, Cronenberg made a few very wise decisions early on. One, this is Robert Pattinson’s hands-down best role. In the hands of a very capable director and a punishing script, Pattinson turns in a performance that channels a young Robert De Niro, New York twang and all. His performance is so understated and brilliant that, during moments where he breaks through this Wall Street gloss, he comes across as truly unhinged and monstrous. This is a frightening performance in the best ways and points towards a hell of a career ahead for Pattinson.
...
For one of the smartest films I’ve seen in a while, Cosmopolis is also one of the least outwardly enjoyable. That by no means makes it anything less than a great film however. But if you can stomach the loose poetry of the dialogue, heavy use of metaphor and occasionally lax pace, this will leave you thinking about its cultural commentary long after the curtains close.

From The Yorker (UK)

The casting of Pattinson as the quasi-psychopathic playboy may be a surprising move, but he delivers a magnetically credible performance. Packer is a curious creation, a man who views life through a mathematic prism, obsessed with control and perfection, terrified of abnormalities and who insists on having daily health check-ups. It would be easy to interpret him as a symbol of American capitalism, but Pattinson succeeds in bringing out the humanity of his character, particularly in one scene where he is struck with grief for the death of an idol. Samantha Morton, Juliette Binoche, Mathieu Amalric and Paul Giamatti are all also excellent, the latter especially in a nail-bitingly tense stand-off that seems to go on forever.

Excerpt from Next Projection, given the film 92/100:

Where Pattinson may seem an unlikely addition to this elite club, he could scarcely be more suited to the role of Packer. Like Packer, Pattinson is more a name than a recognisable personality, a figure all know but few truly understand. In Pattinson’s every glance, every movement, every smile, there is the sense of a man coming to terms with whom and what he is. Packer’s shifting perspective on himself is far more understated than that of the world’s, and in this the true brilliance of both Pattinson and the film itself come to be revealed.
...
This is Cronenberg returned to what he does best, delivering a film that stands both as a highlight of this year, and of its director’s work to date.

Given an 8/10, The Age (AU) applauds Cosmopolis:

In classic Cronenberg fashion, the film looks and feels absurdly clinical, plus there's a visually marked contrast between the dull sheen of Packer's limousine (essentially, a slow-moving penthouse on wheels) and the anarchic world outside, to which he no longer relates. Interestingly, despite delivering a robust turn as Packer, Pattinson agonised for days over how to turn Cronenberg down for the role. "I spent a week thinking, 'I know it's really good, it's Cronenberg, but you're in every scene.' What if I f--- it up?'' he told me at Cannes, following the film's world premiere there. Cronenberg's sixth sense went further, still: when they were shooting, the Occupy movement was barely in its infancy. Given the increasingly marked social divides, particularly in Europe, the film feels more relevant now than ever. And as a thoughtful essay on a man fighting for meaning within his hollow surrounds, it's riveting, poetic and thoroughly Cronenberg.

Excerpt from Crikey (AU):

The film is destined to be derided and misunderstood, and, deliciously, to thrust stray tweens into an idiot wind of confusion when it is realised that the prime-cut of Robert Pattinson’s surface values can’t possibly appease them. Not this time. Whether Cosmopolis was financed partly because of his involvement, or whether Cronenberg believed he was the best man for the job, or both, few can say. But yes: the Twilight smirk-maker is very good in a role that plays to his strengths

As a whole. Guestlist Network couldn't get with the film, but had this to say:

There is a superb final scene between Pattinson and Paul Giamitti, an artistic and tense tété-a-tété of morals and motivations including a memorable (if ruined by its inclusion in the trailer) bit of self mutilation. If only the rest of the movie were like this, it would certainly benefit. Still, Pattinson gives a terrific turn as the spoiled, empty-hearted but energetic Packer, and it's great seeing him getting his teeth into (ahem) something a bit more worth his time. And Cosmopolis is still an important statement of our times; it's just difficult to understand what that statement is.

Excerpt from Scene 360:

Pattinson has made a very conscious choice to direct his acting career away from the “Twilight” franchise, and squarely in that of renowned directors and more complicated material. He pulls this off to great effect, as the film leaves its leading man nowhere to hide in regards to his acting ability and screen presence.
“Cosmopolis” is not going to be for everyone. It is not a relaxing Friday night movie and it does have a tendency to lag by the beginning of the third act, though it does redeem itself in the final scenes. When the Cronenbergian violence does come, it’s a relief, if not an antidote to all the intricate multi-layered conversations that have preceded it. Love it or hate it, “Cosmopolis” is going to create a reaction and likely a source of many university film studies papers.

Excerpt from The Reel Bits (AU), 3.5 stars:

Robert Pattinson makes a complete break from his fangy persona, in a role that is more likely to repulse his legion of fans than it is to shock them. It is a measured performance, tightly under the rein of Cronenberg, but that is true of the rest of the cast as well. The stilted and existential conversations between Packer and a stream of business associates (including Samantha Morton), lovers (such as Juliette Binoche), wife of convenience (Sarah Gadon) and other professionals is as cold and calculated as his business dealings, at odds with the growing anarchy outside. As something resembling the Occupy movement mounts, and threats are made against Packer’s life, Packer is duly influenced, plunging himself into a personal chaos and spiral of self-destruction. Cosmopolis is a difficult film to penetrate, but this is only partly due to the deliberate way in which it was constructed. Cronenberg treads a fine line between portraying isolation and actually detaching his film completely from audiences, but his curious mixture of sci-fi sheen with real-world problems grounds Cosmopolis in a way that a surface scan may not reveal. The implication is that the corporate disengagement from reality is partly to blame for the financial crisis, but far more fundamental is the wider apathy that has allowed this to happen.

Excerpt from Empire Online (AU):

Frustrations but not catastrophes, praise must go to Pattinson’s terrific performance. A magnetic, mesmerising anti-presence, the perfect redeployment of the pin-up cheekbones of the R-Pattz myth. As the camera gazes deeper into his frozen face, we detect a concerto of tiny twitches, lurking smirks and trickles of sweat — micro-fluctuations in the sanity of a man who has everything.