​FILMS

maps to the stars

Maps to the Stars (Drama): 50 out of 100: From the warped mind of David Cronenberg comes this independent production that satirises Hollywood and its stars. There's a fair bit of name dropping and Carrie Fisher even gets to play herself. However, see "The Player" from 1992 directed by Robert Altman to see how a Hollywood satire should be done.

There are interconnecting stories with incestuous themes that don't quite gel. Julianne Moore plays an actress whose mother was also an actress who abused her when she was a child. For this role, Julianne Moore received the Best Actress award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and she is the standout in the cast. However, like most of the other characters, she is very difficult to like. With so many unlikeable characters, it's very hard to feel any sympathy for them so the viewer ends up not caring about their fate.

The story meanders and some of the dialogue is irrelevant. There are many scenes where the characters are just engaging in meaningless conversation. It's easy to switch off during these scenes. There are some interesting, dramatic scenes that fuel the tension but these are few and far between.

It sure is a weird collection of characters and plotlines. The numerous hallucination scenes highlight how screwed up and twisted the characters are. Some of these characters are expendable including Robert Pattinson's character. They're not really needed to move the narrative along.

David Cronenberg has had a few hits and misses over the years. His films are generally too weird and quirky for my liking. If you prefer mainstream cinema then stay away from this and even if you like arthouse movies, "Maps to the Stars" isn't the type of film which will have you salivating over.

Starring Julianne Moore, John Cusack, Mia Wasikowska and Robert Pattinson
(111 minutes)
Parental advice: Nudity, sex scenes, coarse language, sexual references, adult themes
Additional scene during or after credits: No
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLuGZcVAW78 (Movie trailer)

(Reviewed on Wednesday 12th November, 2014)