After visiting the great David Cronenberg exposition in Eye Amsterdam we went to see his latest film. In the exposition a lot of stress is laid on Cronenberg’s weird creations, mixes between bodies and technologies and the like, but nothing of that can be found in his latest film. “Maps To The Stars” is mostly a drama about Hollywood actors and their lives. Julianne Moore once again plays a heavily troubled woman, this time an actress whose carreer is as good as over. Then we have another troubled woman, Agatha Weiss whose past is getting on with her. Agatha’s husband is the successfull New Age Hollywood star doctor Stafford Weiss who goes to great length to keep the drama out of his life so that it does not interfere with his cashflow. Agatha and Stafford have a successfull child-star as a son. Then there is Jerome Fontana who is one of those typical youngsters working in Hollywood to get money and at the same time trying his luck with acting and writing.
All characters are part of the same story, but different sides of it. Nothing fancy for a change, but there are some surprising connections. It looks like Cronenberg wanted to show the dark side of Hollywood and use that element in a slightly mysterious story, or at least, a story which shows the dark side of man.
“Maps To The Stars” is a good drama with good acting, but I must say that I was more in the mood of the old Cronenberg after the exposition.
