Following up on A Dangerous Method, a Freudian analysis of human sexuality, and Cosmopolis, a dark satire of the Occupy movement, noted provocateur David Cronenberg is set to continue reaching the darkest corners of our collective psyches with his next film, Maps to the Stars.
The director’s involvement alone was enough to put this project (about the twisted members of a modern Hollywood dynasty) on my radar, but now that the first trailer has dropped, I can say for certain that people are going to be talking about Maps to the Stars all throughout the year.
The footage surely begs a lot of questions, but for a first preview, it does hint at a lot of really interesting plot points (by all appearances, it’s more of a sales trailer for festivals than anything else). There’s limo sex, truly twisted family dynamics, hidden pasts, a pyromaniac and the looming threat of some serious bloodletting.
Maps to the Stars re-teams Cronenberg with his Cosmopolis stars, Robert Pattinson and Sarah Gadon, but the film features a vast array of highly talented actors who haven’t worked with the legendary director before. Maps to the Stars‘s cast also includes John Cusack, Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska and Olivia Williams.
Cronenberg’s projects are always worth a look regardless of their subject matter, but the cast attached to this film, as well as the promise of a stinging deconstruction of Hollywood culture by screenwriter Bruce Wagner, have me eagerly anticipating it.
Maps to the Stars will probably see a theatrical release later this year, courtesy of eOne International.
