Rating: 
Summary: An impressionistic look at mental illness
Review: After all these years, Cronenberg is still an artist. He's made another low-budget, sure-to-bomb-at-the-box-office movie that he just HAD to make. His career suffers a little, but the audience benefits.With a great script (by the author of the novel) and Ralph Fiennes already attached to it, Cronenberg couldn't say no. Fiennes is amazing, playing what turns out to be a pantomime role --- he hardly speaks. He conveys everything through gestures, mumbling, and his eyes. The rest of the cast is just as good. The pace might put you off, but you can't really judge this film until you've seen it twice. It's subtle movie. The final moments bring it all together in a way that makes the second viewing much more satisfying. The Cronenberg audio track is also very good. The director explains the movie as it goes along. This would be a bad idea if the story was simple, but it isn't. He explains, for example, that he didn't want this to be a clinical examination of schizophrenia, so he didn't bother to get every detail of that particular mental disorder correct. Once you take the movie for what it is --- concise, light on special effects, and impressionistic --- it turns into a very rewarding experience. Even the length is impressive. Rather than take the bloated approach of a Oscar-ready Hollywood "mentally ill guy" movie, he sticks to his horror-film roots and keeps it down to an hour and a half. The only real weakness is the lack of small touches, the memorable moments that turn a good movie into a great one. The "quickie in the tunnel," for example, is unforgettable. Cronenberg should have added more of these small shocks and simple visual effects to keep the audience on their toes.
Rating: 
Summary: Spider Revisited
Review: Spider, restricted to a three feet horizon, is coming from an asylum and going to a halfway house. He passes in front of a tall brick building whose windows are walled up, echoing his mental state - no detail is superfluous. From then on and thru out the film, the story is revealed thru Spider's flashback, painfully piecing his bits of memories to understand his drama and thus recovering his mind. The theme of the puzzle is repeated thru out with Spider piecing together a puzzle in the halfway house, then finding the last missing piece of the web-like broken glass 'hinting at the resolution of the story. At first, viewers are led to believe that Spider's flash back will take them back to the cause of the trauma. Before long, they realize that all flash back cannot be equally trusted. Hence the suspense begins with the realization that in order to understand the drama, the viewers will have to piece it together, working fast, 'cause even though the scenes unrolled slowly, they barely give them the time to unravel this exciting complexity. In a poignant early scene, Spider sees the gas stove, sniffs his clothes, and frantically undresses. The bareness of the room emphasizes his anxiety and his alienation from reality. Once, one accepts that Spider is psychotic, one proceeds to apply logic within the established context of the mental disorder, as follow:
Because the little boy is unable to integrate the good and the 'growing- bad sides of the mother, he uses SPLITTING, a psychological defense at the psychotic level, to keep the two sides of his mother separated. (Splitting is a defense that can be used at different level. For example a borderline, unable to integrate his bad and good sides, might use SPLITTING by being dutiful during the week and naughty on the weekend. What lowers SPLITTING to the psychotic level is when the two sides never meet in the interested mind). So it follows that first the audience is shown the boy's awe for his GOOD mother, then the boy's shock and disgust for the BAD tart in the pub. The same tart, which will later embody his GOOD mother's bad side ' growing in front of his eyes-, while still keeping the mother features ' only, deformed and vulgarized. The SPLITTING defense is triggered in response to the distance between the good and bad sides of the mother and in response to the boy's nascent sexuality. Apparently the tart in the pub stirred more than shock and disgust in the boy. She also stirred sexual feelings experienced by him as BAD, because she seems so shockingly bad. In the scene where Spiders pulls from his stocking a postcard of two girls exposed, note the features change to the one of the BAD mother, tart/mother. Later, when confronted by the sight of the GOOD mother in a slip, appraising herself in a mirror, it re-awakens his sexuality and corresponding bad feelings, together with jealousy for the father. This scene is immediately followed by the scene of Spider in the halfway house, trying to piece a puzzle together and getting so very frustrated and angry, -the frustration and anger have re-surfaced, but are not yet connected. Spider also uses PROJECTION, another defense that operates below consciousness to channel sexual tension while avoiding guilt, in the scene under the bridge. After the tart has masturbated the dad, notice the shift that takes place, Spider replaces the dad. (This is a glimpse of a sexual wish that has just penetrates Spider's consciousness and -has only taken place in his mind). All flash back cannot be trusted. First, not all flash back are flashback; second, some of the flash back are distorted by the mind of a little boy, who is becoming psychotic. And third, all flashback are processed by Spider's psychotic mind, and have to be taken 'with a grain of salt'.
First, not all flashback is flashback. All the ones where the little boy is not present are not flashback and are not to be trusted. They are only Spider's deductive attempts to connect the dots between bits of memory. For example, the father going to the tart's house to fix her toilette (Spider's effort to understand how they might have met); the mother at the pub, drinking slowly (Spider's work of imagination, how he imagine and wish his GOOD mother to behave); the dad hitting the mother with a shovel when he and the tart are discovered in the shed (Spider's efforts to understand how the GOOD mother disappeared). The exaggeration in this last scene is hard to swallow and gave me the clue that not all flashback was flash back. Second, some of the flashback is distorted by the little boy's becoming psychotic. A clue is given when the BAD mother takes on the features of the tart. Another clue is given when the BAD mother serves an eel in a bowl for dinner. (I sincerely doubt, that this is on the table). (By the way, note the phallic symbol. It helps situates the boy's conflict at the 'oedipal stage'. (Also in the same scene, the BAD mother is wearing the dress, which was worn by the GOOD; it made me understand there was only ONE mother). By this time in the film the boy is clearly psychotic and fully believes what he is seeing. This is why he opens the gas. Third, the flashback is processed by Spider's psychotic mind. When the film begins, Spider is apparently better since he is released from an asylum to settle in a halfway house. But his efforts to unravel his conflict bring his mind too close to psychosis, and some of its content spills in the reality, notably the BAD mother's fur coat and her features which now replace the one of the landlady. Note, Spider's sexual perception of the landlady when she is searching her keys. The film ends with him remembering opening the gas and seeing that the woman dragged out of the house is in fact the GOOD beautiful mother. At the same time the landlady of the halfway house regained her features. Spider has regained sanity. Ironically in the next and last scene, he lights a cigarette in a car that is taking him back to the asylum. I am in awe of Cronenberg's talent.
Rating:
Summary: dont listen to the bad reviews
Review: this movie is great. one of the best of 2002. but the bad reviews given to this film do not understand the movie. people who dont understand the film should not write reviews. this film was a masterpiece. the people who did the lighting and music did lord of the rings. the acting so wonderful. you will understand everything when it ends. it is a great peice of work about a kid who goes to a mental institution. but then later he returns on a island and he wants to find his past. this is a great movie to start your dvd collection
if you would be smart get this movie. 5/5 deserves every point.
Rating:
Summary: Cronenberg Understands McGrath
Review: Patrick McGrath is a fine writer of bizarre, beyond the edge stories and finally someone has found the courage to tackle one of his basically 'inner mind' stories. SPIDER dates back to 1991, before McGrath wrote ASYLUM, DR HAGGARD'S DISEASE, BUTCHER BOY, MARTHA PEAKE etc and that story showed all the promise of the author's ability to find entry into the dark interstices of the ill mind, a line of detail he continues to follow and expand. David Cronenberg, that master of the macabre, was the absolute right director to transpose this map (read 'web') of the schizophrenic mind to film. His cast is impeccably correct: Ralp Fiennes manages to create a three dimensional character out of the title role, while Miranda Richardson, Lynn Redgrave, and Gabriel Byrne and all the bit players feel fully in character at all times. The grisly story is beautifully photogrpahed and meticulously scored (a very finely orchestrated score by Howard Shore) and if at times the film feels longer than the usual movie, realize that this is the way a disturbed and immobile brain deals with the outside world. For the story read the other reviews. For your edification, buy or rent this amazingly disturbing film and keep your mind open.......
Rating:
Summary: A departure for Cronenberg.
Review: Spider (David Cronenberg, 2002) Wow. David Cronenberg gets away from his obsession with biomechanics and teams up with novelist/screenwriter Patrick McGrath (The Grotesque, the forthcoming Asylum) and a stable of brilliant actors to bring McGrath's chilling novel Spider to the screen. And the job they do is utterly fascinating. The film is deliberately-paced (read: slow), which is likely to put off some viewers, but Cronenberg allows the characters to find themselves in the time allotted; remember, this is a character study more than it is a plot-driven mystery. Spider spends his time trying to solve the mystery of his past, yes, but that's incidental to him trying to solve the mystery of himself. As the film begins, Spider (the incredible Ralph Fiennes in the role of his career) has just been released from the asylum and sent to a halfway house overseen by a surprisingly likable harridan named Mrs. Wilkinson (Lynn Redgrave). Spider is a schizophrenic, and much of the buzz surrounding the film dealt with how well the filmmakers and Fiennes portrayed the schizophrenic mindset. Don't be looking for Sam Jackson's wonderful performance in The Caveman's Valentine here, though; Spider is almost the diametric opposite of Romulus Ledbetter; obsessively inner-directed, muttering to himself rather than shouting at the neighbors, longing for human companionship (which he finds in a couple of fellow halfway house inmates, Terence [John Neville] and Freddy [Gary Reinieke]) but unsure what to do with it when he gets it. He is far more fascinated with scenes of his early life that he, and we, see regularly throughout the film as he tries to piece together the reason he originally went insane. The present-day scenes are strong, but the past scenes are even stronger. Gabriel Byrne and Miranda Richardson play Spider's mother and father, and both balance a very delicate line between playing the ogre and the saint Spider sees and playing the confused parents of a child who is obviously already showing signs of mental disturbance that (we assume) they truly are. Both have done some excellent work in their time, but, like Fiennes, they have truly outdone themselves in these roles. As Spider gets closer and closer to figuring out the end of the story, both as he sees it and as (we assume, again) it really happened, both Byrne and Richardson's characters change subtly and get closer to (what we perceive as) reality. The extra DVD materials are fascinating; Cronenberg's interviews about the filming techniques and the reasoning behind some of the shots brought the ideas behind them out even more, lending an even more impressive weight to the film itself. Highly recommended on all counts. **** 1/2
Rating:
Summary: Oedipus in London
Review: The creepy psychological thriller, "Spider," is difficult and challenging even for a David Cronenberg film. It is also immensely rewarding. The film starts off slowly, but like the spider of the title, it spins a web that draws us into the center of its world and never lets us out. Ralph Fiennes delivers a bravura performance in the largely nonverbal role of a mentally disturbed man who, upon his discharge from an asylum, takes up residence in a drab halfway house in London. As Fiennes shuffles, mumbles and twitches his way about the house and around the neighborhood, a fascinating Oedipal drama emerges. Throughout the course of the story, Spider, the adult, begins to intrude more and more into the past as he watches unobserved the events he believes occurred in his childhood. As a boy, he obviously adored and worshiped his mother (Miranda Richardson), so much so that, as a grownup, he begins to imagine himself present at events that depict his father's supposed infidelities (and worse), clearly hoping that, by doing this, Spider can eliminate his father either as a rival or, at best, as an agent of further defilement. In order to continue seeing his mother as sacred, the young Spider finds a unique, but ultimately fatal method of "objectifying" her and the feelings he has for her (a method that fits perfectly into the old Madonna syndrome). It is an act that will have fatal consequences for the family unit. What makes all this so absorbing is the way in which Cronenberg and scenarist Patrick McGrath delve into the subconscious madness of the main character. For large stretches of the film we literally have no idea if what we are seeing in the past actually happened or whether it is all the product of a deeply disturbed mind. Only towards the end do all the pieces fall into place, revealing the "truth" beneath the surface of this highly disturbing tale. "Spider" is a thriller in the richest sense of the term because it builds its suspense gradually and subtly, fully aware that the greatest threats come from our own distorted views of reality. Against such madness, how can any of us be safe? Cronenberg has provided a somber, stark environment in which to unfold his drama. The drab colors, sterile settings, somber music and pervasive spider imagery all contribute to the foreboding atmosphere of the piece. As Spider, Fiennes is a revelation, conveying the disturbed nature of the character through indirection and understatement, never going over the top in his portrayal of a truly insane man, making him all the more convincing and chilling. Miranda Richardson (in a triple role), Gabriel Byrne, Lynn Redgrave, John Neville and young Bradley Hall all contribute mightily to the success of the work. My biggest fear is that many people will tune out this film early on because of its admittedly slow pacing in the first half. If they do, I am sorry to say they will have missed one of the most intriguing and gripping movies to be released in a long time.
Rating:
Summary: A challenging, complex film
Review: A wonderfully acted, complex story. Warning alert: if you don't want the entire film spoiled, don't read Ryan Cragun's review below as he gives away many of the twists of the plot as well as the ending. This film works best if you just let it unfold. It gives a much more realistic look at the mind of a schizophrenic than we were given in the shallow "A Beautiful Mind".
Rating: 
Summary: Horridly Pedestrian
Review: The mystery that other reviewers ooo and ahh over was crap. I figured it out in about 5 minutes. I spent the whole movie hoping it wasn't that lame. Everything you expect and want from a Cronenberg film is completely absent as another reviewer said. Though the cinematography and acting are superb, the story is lackluster and just not that interesting or involving. I sure hope this isn't the end of the real Cronenberg films.
Rating:
Summary: Inside Spider's head
Review: That is exactly how you will feel after watching Cronenberg's latest, and surprisingly most accessible work. Compared to other C. material, Spider is very simple in its plot but extremely complex in execution. Notice the lack of eye contact and complete shame throughout the entire life of Spider after a significant event. As a boy he can stare you straight in the face and call you a "murderer" but as an adult he has succumbed to muttering and hiding things in his pockets.
Enough cannot be said of Fiennes and Richardson, both absolutely perfect in their roles.
Anyone who follows Cronenberg knows it will not be an easy watch, and sometimes the reward is great ( Dead Ringers, Existenz,Videodrome, The Fly) and sometimes not as great as you hope ( M.Butterfly, Crash, Naked Lunch) but the viewing is always a pleasure. The music, art direction, pacing and colors of a C. film are always impressive and worth traveling to see, each piece is a work of art, and Spider is definitely that.
As with every C. exercise, don't try to make sense of Spider's history, we probably never saw the real history. His mind is so preoccupied with schizophrenia that what the film lays out as an explaination may not really be, this may be frustrating for some, as it was in "Existenz" but here it is not. Because of the subject matter, just revel in the perfect acting and direction .
Rating:
Summary: This movie is what "A Beautiful Mind" was afraid to be!
Review: This movie is simply incredible! It's a perfectly acted, incredibly realistic and disturbing film about a man with a severe mental illness- which means, of course, that most of America won't be able to stomach watching it. If you thought "A Beautiful Mind" was a great movie and depicted mental illness perfectly, then you probably won't like this film. From the opening scene at a train station (that takes what seems like forever for Ralph Fiennes to get off the train) right to the ending revelation, I was riveted.
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