Rated R for strong sci-fi violence and gore, and for language.
97 Minutes

Written and Directed By: David Cronenberg
Staring: Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ian Holm, William Dafoe, and Sarah Polley

It’s worse than that. I’m not sure… I’m not sure here, where we are, is real at all. This feels like a game to me. And you, you’re beginning to feel a bit like a game character. -Ted

Synopsis

A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.

Review

eXistenZ will appeal to anyone who loved the short lived television show, Harsh Realm with D.B. Sweeney.  Staring Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh, with compelling performances by IanHolm and William Dafoe, this alternate or confused ideal of reality becomes an exciting Sci-Fi thriller that constantly keeps you guessing.

It is another film that delves into the nature of reality by viewing this distorted perception threw the eyes of the virtual game creator, Allegra.  A group of religious zealots have plotted her assassination, while the film sets the plot in a condition where your perception of reality is just as off kilter as the main characters.  We are stumbling threw each event trying to comprehend what is real and what is not.  In the middle of the suspense and confusion, you’ll find your entertainment core perfectly balanced with random doses of humor and tongue in cheek dialogue.

Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh have great chemistry and play brilliantly off each other.  There is a very strong sexual tension that is countered with clever action and dialogue.  The uncertainty of each character and the confusion about whether they are in the video game or not constantly has you guessing.

Some of the visuals are simply awkward, though they were intended to be.  The game itself is organic and plugs into a port in the gamers spine, somehow inciting a more realistic experience.  The cords mirror that of an umbilical cord and the games core some kind of distorted body parts.  It’s really bizarre but works with the film.

The conception of eXistenZ is admittedly not entirely an original thought, and shadows some of writer/director Cronenberg’s previous work, but it’s execution is incredible and undeniably entertaining.  It has total relevance to our techno/ADHD influenced world and the changes gaming and violence has in our personal entertainment.

This is one I had forgotten about over the years.  It probably got lost in the sensationalized special effects dynasty of The Matrix and it’s other bumbling followings, but it is a remarkable movie worth a view.  For hard core gamers or big Science Fiction junkies this is a little piece of cinematic heaven made just for you.  The Verdict?  This is a must see.

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