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Spider

2002

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 35 Critic Reviews

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83

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 41 Ratings

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7.2

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7.2	Your Score
7.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 41 Ratings

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Spider

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Spider

Movie Details & Credits

Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: December 20, 2002 | R

Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Miranda Richardson, Ralph Fiennes

Summary: A psychological thriller about a man (Fiennes) trying to piece his life back together after his premature release from a mental institution.

Director: David Cronenberg

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery

Rating: R

Runtime: 98 min

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Metascore

Negative:

0

Critic Reviews

100

San Francisco Chronicle

Mick LaSalle

In this small and very smart film, Cronenberg does several things at once and makes them all look effortless, capturing various shadings of consciousness and versions of reality. Read full review

90

Variety

David Rooney

This slow but brilliantly sustained journey into madness is fronted by a remarkable performance from Ralph Fiennes and superb backup from Miranda Richardson in a triple role. Read full review

90

Washington Post

Michael O'Sullivan

His story is sad, compelling and morbidly, tragically watchable. Read full review

83

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Sean Axmaker

Cronenberg's most disciplined exploration yet of that shadowy realm: the world refracted through the prism of a schizophrenic mind. Read full review

80

Washington Post

Stephen Hunter

An eensy-weensy movie sustained by two utterly gigantic performances. Read full review

75

Chicago Sun-Times

Roger Ebert

The details of the film and of the performances are meticulously realized; there is a reward in seeing artists working so well. But the story has no entry or exit, and is cold, sad and hopeless. Afterward, I feel more admiration than gratitude. Read full review

50

Baltimore Sun

Michael Sragow

Spider as a character is a fantasizing detective, but the movie is no Singing Detective (the high-water mark of the sub-genre). This film rarely rises above a murmur. Read full review

SEE ALL 35 REVIEWS

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User Reviews

10

Vocecita

Oct 26, 2006

An excellent movie.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

10

williamw

Apr 1, 2009

The most nerve-racking, chillingly precise film about mental illness ever made. In my humble opinion, the director's magnus opus.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

10

MathewB.

Jul 6, 2007

A masterpiece of perception of reality vs. reality

0 of 0 users found this helpful

10

Methusalah

Jan 9, 2008

This movie was visually astounding. It had more eye catching, amazingly framed scenes than any previous Cronenberg movie. A surreal trek through a day in the life of a mentally ill individual.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

9

Eon

Oct 20, 2006

Great acting, great directing, great puzzle. ;)

0 of 0 users found this helpful

8

Spangle

Feb 10, 2017

Spider is a film that left me feeling quite cold initially. Not nearly as weird as David Cronenberg's early work, Spider is a more reserved film with an hour and a half of Ralph Fiennes exclusively mumbling. He has a few lines, but mostly just mumbles those too. Thus, it was a hard film toSpider is a film that left me feeling quite cold initially. Not nearly as weird as David Cronenberg's early work, Spider is a more reserved film with an hour and a half of Ralph Fiennes exclusively mumbling. He has a few lines, but mostly just mumbles those too. Thus, it was a hard film to pin down and truly wring enjoyment out of from beginning to end. However, the finale is what cements this as a brilliant work. Far more reserved and grounded than Cronenberg is known for, Spider is an exploration of the mind of a broken man. Why is he forced to live out his days in an asylum after being seemingly fine as a child? Well, Cronenberg gives you the unexpected answer in a finale that elevates the entire film into being a very good character study.

Mumbling, bumbling, and stumbling his way through the film, Dennis "Spider" Cleg (Ralph Fiennes) is a broken man. In a halfway home after leaving the asylum, he relives part of his childhood in his mind. Living with a devoted mother, Mrs. Cleg (Miranda Richardson), he has an alcoholic father Bill (Gabriel Byrne). His mediocre life gets worse when he believes he sees his father begin to find another woman attractive. Soon, this turn into a full blown affair and possible murder. This shakes the very core of the boy and, whatever mental issues he had before, become exacerbated and truly take hold. The boy is traumatized by what transpires and it leaves him turning into his own mind and tying strings around his room like a spider web. The broken adult version of Dennis shows no signs of overcoming what he has seen, still visibly shaken and incredibly meek.

This character study of a man and an exploration of what troubles him so is incredibly sympathetic. Blocking out traumatic experiences and the horror it causes him when he realizes what really occurred in beautifully captured by Cronenberg. Fiennes never has a freak out, he just looks dead in the eyes and carries this look throughout. He just floats through life in a brilliantly reserved and sympathetic portrayal of this man. Cronenberg, for his part, makes the trauma real and authentic. Seen through the eyes of a boy, it is easy to see how things can be misunderstood and such traumatic incidences certainly leave him pushing the events out of his mind. The finale reveals the truth and is incredibly well handled and makes a lot of sense. In this way, the film becomes quite shocking due to the unexpected nature of the finale and how all of the pieces fit together. In many ways, the film is like a puzzle and Cronenberg hints at that throughout. After a glass window shatters, the asylum workers put together the window again to ensure all the broken pieces are there. The end result looks like a puzzle and a spider web. For Dennis, he also tries to put together a real puzzle, but gets incredibly frustrated and throws it across the room. This is also symbolic for the viewer as the film takes some time to come together. The pieces do not fit perfectly and instead get caught up in the web spun by Cronenberg himself. It can be a frustrating and challenging experience as this is a reserved film that refuses to give way to dramatics. A character study that shows how we compartmentalize things and the damaging impact it can have on our psyche, Spider is a film that messes with your mind and thrills in equal measure. Yet, it is a film that does not feature kooky David Cronenberg. Rather, he avoids theatrics and shock, instead going for a slowly unwinding mental knot of confusion and trauma. For his part, Fiennes is brilliant, even if his lines are limited. He truly shows his range here as he plays a man mostly through just emoting and looks in his eyes. He is not forced into acting crazy or having breakdowns at any point. Rather, his pain is far more subtle and somberly portrayed. Spider is a film that explores mental illness with grace and class, refusing to turn the mentally ill into mere props for entertainment. Instead, it shows the horror that the mind can produce for those that suffer from any form of mental illness.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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Awards & Rankings

20	#20 Best Movie of 2002
40	#40 Most Shared Movie of 2002

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