Spider (2002)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Patrick McGrath, based on his novel
Directed by David Cronenberg
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne, Lynn Redgrave, John Neville

Features:

• Running audio commentary by director Cronenberg
  
• Theatrical trailer
  
• In the Beginning: How Spider Came to Be featurette
  
• Weaving the Web: The Making of Spider featurette
  
• Caught in Spider's Web: The Cast featurette
  

Released by: Columbia Tristar
Region: 1
Rating: R
Anamorphic: Yes

My Advice: Watch it twice

Spider tells the deceptively simple tale of a man (Fiennes) recently released from a mental hospital into a halfway house. He's coming to grips with his past, who he is, and what he has himself done. In the grand gothic tradition of books like Melmoth the Wanderer, the narrative is a mixture of fact and fantasy, present and past.

The acting is absolutely incredible. All of the actors are forced to stretch, especially Richardson, playing three roles, and Fiennes and Byrne are like nothing you’ve ever seen from them before. The cinematographer, stage designer, and director deserve special notice for how the film looks, from tiny details to the overall look of a shot. For example, the puzzle Spider is putting together throughout much of the film is of a spiderweb, when glass or mirror breaks, it’s into the pattern of a web, often with a missing shard, not unlike the missing shards of Spider’s own memory and mind. The opening credits are shot over cement walks and walls with patterns like Rorschach tests. The boarded up windows to Spider’s soul are also another subtle, but effective touch.

Another thing to note in this film is how Spider is very much the archetype of the "tortured artist." His sensitivity was his undoing; perhaps if he had been able to make more things with his hands, as his mother observed his skill for, he would have been more able to cope with his feelings and even find a healthier expression for his growing rage and burgeoning adolescence. The layers of metaphor in this film are just amazing for their complexity and richness. Between the tangled webs of Spider’s sexuality and the paralysis/anxiety of all artists (indeed: all teens and even adults), graduate film students could analyze this film for years.

The star of the features list is the commentary with the director. Cronenberg knows what he’s doing, and his love of film and artistic genius come across in the commentary almost as much as in the film. While it’s important that a film be able to stand alone without a commentary to "explain" it, Spider is such a visually rich and metaphorically pregnant piece that watching the film through, and then watching it again with the commentary turned on is strongly recommended. You will see all manner of things that you missed the first time. The featurettes will also please those who like to see how films came to be, as well as who like to feel like Hollywood insiders, learning about the wheeling and dealing that goes into creating a film.

In short, if you are interested in the psychology of artists, human psychology, mild psychological thrillers, or simply appreciate a finely crafted film, then you will love Spider. Watch it today, several times, and see what you think of Spider’s character and his recursive descent into memory and madness.