David Cronenberg’s upcoming film Cosmopolis has picked up another cast member, Jay Baruchel. Baruchel will join an already impressive cast that includes Robert Pattinson, Keira Knightley, Paul Giamatti, Samantha Morton, Juliette Binoche and Mathieu Amalric. We’ve heard a lot of casting news on this film recently and I’m going to go ahead and guess that Baruchel will probably be the last piece of this puzzle. Pattinson plays “a financial wiz kid who puts his life in danger by betting his entire fortune against the yen on a tumultous day.” Baruchel will play “the shy guy who founded the company, who acts as the trader’s conscience.” Based on Don DeLillo’s novel, it looks like great material for a film.
The summary is as follows:
“A day in the life of a brilliant and precocious New Economy billionaire, a study in big money and affectlessness. As one character remarks, 28-year-old Eric Packer “wants to be one civilization ahead of this one.” But on an April day in the year 2000, Eric’s fortune and life fall apart. The story tracks him as he traverses Manhattan in his stretch limo. His goal: a haircut at Anthony’s, his father’s old barber. But on this day his driver has to navigate a presidential visit, an attack by anarchists and a rapper’s funeral. Meanwhile, the yen is mounting, destroying Eric’s bet against it. The catastrophe liberates Eric’s destructive instinct-he shoots another character and increases his bet. Mostly, the action consists of sequences in the back of the limo (where he stages meetings with his doctor, various corporate officers and a New Economy guru) interrupted by various pit stops. He lunches with his wife of 22 days, Elise Shifrin. He has sex with two women, his art consultant and a bodyguard. He is hit in the face with a pie by a protester. He knows he is being stalked, and the novel stages a final convergence between the ex-tycoon and his stalker.”
Baruchel has given some good performances lately but they’ve mainly been comedic. It will be interesting to see how he does with this darker material. The plot of the novel sounds like it will make for a great film and under Cronenberg’s direction, I think this one will be a winner. It’s also got a superb cast backing it up.
What do you think?
