Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34716 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-07-14
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 98 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Internal madness is hypnotically externalized in David Cronenberg's Spider, a disturbing portrait of schizophrenia. Adapted by Patrick McGrath from his celebrated novel, this no-frills production begins when "Spider" Cleg (Ralph Fiennes, in a daring, nearly nonverbal role) returns to his childhood neighbourhood in London's dreary East End, where a traumatic event from his past percolates to the surface of his still-erratic consciousness.

Released from a mental institution and left to fend for himself, he pursues elusive memories while staying in a halfway house run by a stern matron (Lynn Redgrave), unable to distinguish between past, present, and psychological fabrication. The distorting influence of Spider's mind is directly reflected in Cronenberg's cunning visual strategy, presenting a shifting "reality" that's deliberately untrustworthy, until the veracity of nearly every scene is called into question. With an impressive dual-role performance by Miranda Richardson, Spider falls prey to its own lugubrious rhythms, but like the acclaimed 1995 indie film Clean, Shaven, it's a compelling glimpse of mental illness, seen from the inside out. --Jeff Shannon

Special Features
English
English
Region 2
Cast And Crew Interviews
Trailers
English

Synopsis
Based on the novel by Patrick McGrath, David Cronenberg's psychological drama follows Dennis "Spider" Cleg (Ralph Fiennes), a mentally disturbed man who has just been released from an asylum. Upon taking up residence in a seedy London apartment building, the already introverted Spider begins to retreat further into his own thoughts, shutting out the caretaker, Mrs. Wilkinson (Lynn Redgrave), and other eccentric tenants such as the wistful Terrence (John Neville). Within the confines of his mind, the anxious Spider revisits his childhood and literally watches his younger self (Bradley Hall) as he interacts with his doting mother (Miranda Richardson) and distant father (Gabriel Byrne). As his visions of the past continue, tragedy strikes and the dark history of Spider's life is slowly revealed.
A surprisingly subtle outing for Cronenberg, SPIDER carefully avoids the director's grotesque "body horror" aesthetic, common to films such as VIDEODROME and THE FLY. By leaving his signature bag of tricks behind, Cronenberg frees himself to tell one of the most compelling stories of his career. The film is anchored by Fiennes' impressive performance as the mumbling, reclusive, and strangely sympathetic title character. In the hands of a less experienced and dynamic actor, Spider's awkward presence could border on caricature, but Fiennes imbues the self-isolated man with dignity and depth. Aiding Fiennes and Cronenberg in this minimalist masterpiece are McGrath (who has carefully pared down his hallucinatory prose), composer Howard Shore, and cinematographer Peter Suschitzky, along with actors Byrne, Hall, Redgrave, Neville, and, most notably, Richardson in a remarkable triple role.

Customer Reviews

Patience Will Be Rewarded
A subtle, slow and sad film, this. Ralph Fiennes, when he's on top of his game, does understatement as well as anybody, as anoyone who's seen his performance in The Constant Gardener will know. Here, he is heartbreaking as the deeply troubled protaganist of the title; a stutterning, shambling man in a scruffy coat, whose stubby, chewed, nocotine-stained fingers speak of a soul in torment as poignantly as any words could. Released from an asylum after an unspecified number of years, Spider returns to his old haunts and slowly, gradually, the ghosts from his past that have helped shape this piece of human wreckage begin to emerge.
This is not an easy film to watch. Cronenberg will not be rushed, and does not patronise the viewer by offering easy answers or solutions. As it's essentially seen through the eyes of a delusional schizophrenic, neither does he make it entirely clear what's real and what's fantasy. But these things are what make it such a unique and rewarding experience. I'm not going to ruin it by telling you what I think it means - watch it and make up your own minds.
Fiennes is, as I've already said, superb. Gabriel Byrne also lends his usual presence as Spider's taciturn, brooding father, and Bradley Hall is creepily effective as his younger self, but it's Miranda Richardson who steals the show in a dual role as Spider's mother and the loud-mouthed, tarty Yvonne.
This is an excellent study of madness and maternal obsession (to call it Freudian would be to underate its subtlety), which keeps you thinking until long after the credits roll. It's not a film to watch on a romantic evening in, and will probably test the patience of many. But if you are a grown-up seeking a perfect antidote to Hollywood shlock, then I urge you to watch it.

Gets better
The 4 stars are for the ending only. For 3/4 of this film, I sat there, the only reason I carried on watching it was because I wanted to get my money's worth. But then, about 10 minutes before the end, it got good. This is one of those films you sit there for ages bored, then something suddenly happens that makes you say "wow" outloud. I still don't really understand what happened, but that's half the fun of it. Weird film, worth a watch, though.

Highly underrated psychological drama from David Cronenberg.
After glancing over some the previous comments for Spider (2002), as well as several other somewhat similar films that explore various comparable themes, I have come to the conclusion that audiences today don't want to be challenged. A sad fact indeed, since David Cronenberg's Spider is one of the more challenging English-language films of the last couple of years.

Told in an entirely subjective fashion that owes much to the work of writers like William S. Burroughs, Franz Kafka, Jean Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, the film draws the audience into the lead character's mind and leaves them there to wander through a wavering maze of fact and fiction, reality and fantasy, the conscious and the subconscious, etc. The symbolic side of the film sees Cronenberg at his best; rejecting the adolescent sex and violence of his earlier work and instead building on the same highly psychological mind-space previously explored in his 1988 film Dead Ringers. There's also a certain reminiscent feeling to his two controversial literary adaptations of the 1990's, Naked Lunch (1991) and Crash (1998), both of which depicted a world as viewed through the eyes of a tormented character.

Cronenberg has always enjoyed chronicling the downward spiral of characters that have been psychologically damaged, but with Spider, novelist Patrick McGrath has created one of the ultimate cinematic schizophrenics. From his oversized shoes, to his nonsense book of gibberish, Spider is every rambling lunatic we've ever come across rolled into one. In lesser hands, the performance could have very easily veered towards Rain Man territory; however, with Fiennes in the lead role, this was never a danger. Having exorcised all traces of hammy overacting as The Tooth Fairy in Red Dragon (2002), he is here free to create a subtle, less showy role that requires little besides simply 'reacting'. His appearance is one of outright dishevelment throughout, as he sits in smoky canteens decked out in a dirty rain-coat, scruffy trousers and with bright yellow nicotine stains on his fingers. If we could walk into the film, we get the feeling that the stench of urine would be everywhere.

When not chronicling the darker side of mental illness or the terrible living conditions of the British halfway-house system, Spider works best as a gripping detective story. We, the audience are here to follow Spider as he traces his various webs back to that one fateful night; studying the facts and putting the pieces back together. There is even a semi-nonsense voice over/stream of conscious thought pattern mumbled by our 'hero' throughout, which helps shed some light on the mystery at hand without necessarily giving too much away. The film also works as a showcase for underrated actors. Fiennes, of course, in the lead is outstanding, but we also have Miranda Richardson as young spider's mother, as well as acting as the film's central enigma. Some have criticised her performance as being almost larger than life, like a caricature, but she is supposed to be playing the fevered incarnation of womanhood as depicted from the mind of a very troubled boy; so what do you expect? As mentioned before, the film works from an entirely subjective viewpoint, in which everything in the film has been rearranged and readapted to better suit the crumbling mindset of the central character.

With this in mind, Cronenberg creates a depiction of Britain that has more in common with The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920) than anything resembling old London town. There are no cars in the film and, save for a few scenes, very little in the way of extras. This allows Spider to wander the empty streets and empty allotments as if constantly roaming around his own damaged and alienated psyche. Gabriel Byrne is also interesting as Spider's father, but his performance is one of great subtly. Even more subtle and criminally underrated is John Neville as Spider's only companion in the halfway house. He gives a very restrained, understated portrayal of psychosis and old age, which is both intriguing and disturbing; with many viewers picking up on the circular thematic of these two different characters. Is Terence a prototype for Spider? Perhaps. Even more intriguing is the character of Mrs Wilkinson, who may or may not be the very same woman who initially flashes her breast at young Spider, thus triggering the events of the film. If she fails to register, it is perhaps down to the streamlining of the character from book to film, which will inevitably leave out major plot details.

Regardless, Cronenberg ties all of these ideas into the images of the film; creating frames of Kafka-like complexity, with damp, bleak, washed-out scenes brimming with symbolism. Try and count how many times we see Spider framed through bars and grates, or how many times the web symbolism is used. The obsession with gas is also a clever allusion to later events and wonderfully represented by the looming gasworks that linger constantly on the horizon. This is a film that rewards multiple viewings, and, as a fan of engrossing, suspenseful, intelligent cinema, I greet it with open arms. Some will no doubt find the film to be a real chore, while others, I would hope, might find something to enjoy within this dark and troubled story. Sufficed to say, for those willing to allow themselves to be tangled in the spider's web, the film will reward....