Crimes of the Future, which debuted at Cannes in 2022, is provocative to say the least. It’s Cronenberg, so it’s impossible to think it might be anything else (especially as it stars Viggo Mortensen, Lea Seydoux, and Kristin Stewart—all seasoned connoisseurs of weird). Set in a distant future, humans begin adapting to their now more synthetic environment, giving way to never-before-seen mutations. Celebrity artist Saul Tenser (Mortensen) and Caprice (Seydoux) begin showing off these strange transformations in a series of increasingly strange performance art pieces, while Investigator Timlin (Stewart) from the National Organ Registry tracks them in an attempt to figure out what’s really going on. If it sounds like a fever dream, that’s because it feels like one.
When asked about people’s reaction to the film at Cannes, Cronenberg had this to say: “There are some very strong scenes. I mean, I’m sure that we will have walkouts within the first five minutes of the movie. I’m sure of that.” And there certainly were walkouts, though the film ended with a six-minute-long standing ovation despite what initial viewers had told Cronenberg about their feelings on the final moments of the film. “Some people who have seen the film have said that they think the last 20 minutes will be very hard on people, and that there’ll be a lot of walkouts. Some guy said that he almost had a panic attack,” he elaborated.
Cronenberg is no stranger to strong reactions to his work. His film Crash, based on the novel by J G Ballard, is lauded as notorious for its focus on people who are sexually aroused by car accidents, and had audience members storming out of the theater during—though it did win a special jury prize at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, which brought about plenty more scandal for the seasoned director.
